The novel is set in the Connecticut valley in the 1950s and involves Parrish and his mother Ellen, who go to live on Sala Post’s tobacco farm so Ellen can be a maid for Post’s daughter. Parrish works on the farm and learns about cultivating and harvesting tobacco. The main plot of the story is the rivalry between the two main tobacco farms in the valley: Post’s and Judd Raike’s. Sala is a kind and hardworking man, respected by his workers, while Judd is cruel and ruthless in making sure that his is the only tobacco farm in the valley. The novel was made into a movie. --Dana Peebles.