Jake Rivers, driving his father"s "58 Chevy pickup with a learners" permit, hauls his horse across Texas the day after Christmas. When he gets lost in a snowstorm, Will Tom Sunday helps him find his new home. The family"s new Panhandle house and farm seem harsh and desolate to Jake. After spending the worst six months of his life bullied and humiliated at his new school, Jake changes schools and starts to love the Panhandle. But when Jake spends a moonlit night on the sprawling Matador Ranch with the daughter of a local minister, the minister and his family leave the church and the community without notice. Jake, feeling his life changed forever, causes his father to suffer a permanent injury.