A boy, injured and damaged, wanders alone on railroad tracks in drought-ridden farm country. His life is one of constant fear and confusion. Bullies beat him. Strangers throw things at him. Coyotes stalk him. His brain plays tricks as it morphs from child-like simplicity to mathematical magician. He stumbles upon what may be a ghostly cemetery of young and old who died in 1918 from the infamous Spanish Flu. And he falls into a discovery that may shed light on a Civil War mystery. A black labrador saves him from his tormentors and the boy finds safety, briefly, until his confused mind sends him on to continue his aimless trek.
Although the boy is in an almost constant state of confusion, his knowledge of numbers appears miraculous. Numbers appear to him in colors and he manipulates them without thinking. While he stumbles along the railroad tracks, often walking back and forth along the same few miles, he hears faint bird songs from the forest and identifies the species with the ease of an experienced ornithologist.
