From his first low country boil on a Carolina beach to a face-off with three thugs in a Georgia parking lot, from an unforgettable night in New Orleans to the Beale Street acrobats and a sunset Mississippi River cruise in Memphis, Boone is constantly in unknown territory on his first venture away from home with his dog Frankie. The map his friend Melvin gave him doesn't offer much guidance, and sometime he feels like Frankie's in charge of their trip and he's just following her lead.

On his return home he sees old friends and new acquaintances in a different and sometimes disturbing light, prompting him to question many of his assumptions about how things are supposed to be. Trying to keep his feet on the ground and leave behind his Daddy's most damaging lessons once and for all, Boone realizes that the trip has changed him in ways he never expected.