Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman's only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she...

Examines the experience of six families and Great Plains communities affected by the dust storms of the Depression. Draws on the memories of those who survived black blizzards, crop failure, and the deaths of loved ones.

Focuses on the experiences of children during the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s, when prolonged drought, coupled with farming techniques, caused massive erosion from Texas to Canada's wheat fields.

Offers a review of the events that led up to and took place during this natural disaster in the Great Plains during the 1930s, and discusses the changes that were instituted in farming and land conservation as a result of it.