Thirteen-year-old Anthony Banes is the son of a doughboy and a suffragette. When his mother dies of influenza during the 1918 epidemic, he is sent from his home in St. Louis to live with his aunt and uncle in the rural community of Simlar's Junction. Alone on the train, he arrives to discover that his aunt and uncle have left the area for an undetermined length of time, and they have left their dog, Henry, behind as well. City-boy Anthony is small for his age and not very tough, but his strong spirit allows him to thrive in the wilds of Texas. With the help of the people he meets there - an...