The narrator, a reporter named Chase Walker, is released from the Glynn County Jail after a three-day stay. His uncle Willee McFarland, a farrier, picks him up in a 1970-something Cadillac hearse called Sally, pulling a double-axle trailer he uses as his workshop. Willee, or “Unc,” informs Chase that his cousin Tommye Lynn McFarland has returned home nearly nine years after she left and is staying at their farm. At the farm, Chase finds Tommye in the loft apartment above the barn where he used to live. She appears thin and tired, and Chase is struck by how much she has changed. During their reunion, Chase recalls the night she left, bruised and bloody. Chase’s editor at the Brunswick Daily, Red Harrington, calls and assigns him a story about the train crash and the mysterious boy who was found standing in the road the following morning. The boy, who has clearly been abused, has since been taken to the hospital, where no one has been able to get him to communicate. As Chase and Unc prepare to leave for the hospital, Chase realizes that Tommye has a fever.

As Chase and Unc leave the farm, they’re briefly stopped by Pockets McQuire, Unc’s lawyer, who delivers a copy of a legal appeal. Unc tells Pockets that after 20 years of legal maneuvering, he’s out of money and there can be no more “if that doesn’t work” (21). Driving alongside a train triggers Chase’s only memory of his father: As a three-year-old, he fell onto the railroad tracks and found himself unable to get up because his belt loop was caught on something. He remembers his father’s hands wrapping around him and the belt loop breaking free before the train passed inches from his head. Chase can recall his father’s shadow and hands but not his face, and he remembers being called by his real name, though he can’t recall what that name is. He reflects on his life as a “foundling,” a child abandoned and given an assigned name. The name on his driver’s license, Chase Walker, feels like a false identity, and his attempts to recall his real name have been unsuccessful.

At the hospital, Chase and Unc find the boy from the train crash in his room, drawing in a notebook. The boy doesn’t speak and communicates through his detailed sketches and by writing. He’s covered in scars, and Unc gently cleans an infected wound on his back. The boy shows them a drawing of the crash and writes that people call him “Snoot.” He then reveals sketches of a trailer home and a large hand using pliers to rip skin from an arm, an act that matches his scars. When Chase asks who inflicted the injuries, the boy draws a man named Bo; he doesn’t respond when Chase asks whether Bo caused them but indicates that Bo isn’t his father. When Unc points to the woman behind the steering wheel and asks if she was his mother, the boy circles the “No” he had previously written. Dr. Paul Johnson explains that past tracheal trauma has damaged the boy’s voice box and that the effects of abuse may also contribute to his not speaking. Chase orders a pizza, and the hungry boy offers his first slice to the guard at his door before eating four pieces in total. As they leave, the boy gives Unc a drawing, and Unc gives him his Atlanta Braves cap in return. Before they leave, Dr. Johnson recognizes the McFarland name. Unc identifies himself as “the one that went to prison” (36). On the drive home, Chase recalls when Unc and Aunt Lorna first took him into their foster home and told him he could stay until his parents returned. Unc reflects that children continue to hope as long as they’re given a reason.

Chase details the history of the McFarland family, beginning with the settlement of Georgia’s Golden Isles. He explains that the story of the McFarland brothers is connected to his recent imprisonment and his decision to become a journalist; he began investigating it after finding that rumors about Unc conflicted with the man he knew. In 1920, Tillman Ellsworth McFarland, a World War I veteran, arrived in the area and acquired 26,000 acres of swampy land known as “the Zuta.” He drained the land, turning it into a valuable source of timber, and founded the successful Zuta Lumber Company. He later opened Zuta First National Bank in a converted church. At age 52, he noticed a 38-year-old piano teacher named Sarah Beth Samuelson, and three months later, they married. She gave him two sons: Silas Jackson “Jack” McFarland and William “Liam” Walker McFarland (Unc) and died after Liam’s birth. The brothers grew up to be opposites; Jack was outspoken and materialistic, while Liam was quiet and thoughtful.

The next morning, Lorna tells Chase that Unc flew to Los Angeles, California, the previous week to bring Tommye home. Tommye questions Chase about his continuing investigation into the Zuta First National vault and tells him that he’s looking in the wrong place. Chase then takes Tommye to the Sanctuary, an island of virgin timber in the middle of the Zuta that’s retained by Unc. She observes that her father, Jack, has been clear-cutting the surrounding land. Chase explains that Unc’s refusal to sell the Sanctuary is hindering Jack’s development plans. Tommye alludes to her difficult past in Los Angeles, connecting the medication she takes to having used “the wrong kind of drugs” and slept with “the wrong people” (57). Chase recalls encountering a DVD bearing Tommye’s name several years earlier but leaving when he realized what he was about to see. When Tommye asks whether Chase can let go of the story he’s pursuing, he says he can’t because he’s getting closer and owes it to Unc; she warns him that “the truth can kill [him]” (58). She tells Chase that she needs his help with something, which is part of the reason she returned.

Chase recounts more of the family’s history, focusing on the strained relationship between Unc and his brother, Jack. After being ostracized by the community, Unc became a farrier. Chase recalls the stark contrast between the brothers during his childhood: Unc was working paycheck to paycheck and remained disgraced in the community despite receiving a pardon, while Jack was a wealthy and respected banker. Tommye’s frequent stays at Unc and Lorna’s home contributed to the uneasy relationship between the brothers. At eight years old, she first arrived there around midnight after apparently running about five miles across the Zuta alone in darkness and lightning. The following morning, Chase saw a newspaper report that her brother had died from a gunshot wound described as an accident. Chase reflects on how his relationship with Tommye shifted from a sibling-like bond to something more complicated as they grew older, culminating in Tommye asking him to their senior prom.

From his sailboat, Chase calls his editor, Red, to provide an update on the case. He then goes to the hospital, where he meets Mandy Parker, an attorney with the district attorney’s office assigned to the boy’s case. The boy, whom Chase nicknames “Sketch,” is wearing Unc’s cap. When Chase asks where he learned to write so well, Sketch draws an older woman in a hospital bed teaching him the alphabet and identifies her as “Miss Myrlene.” When Chase plays a DVD of The Jungle Book that Mandy brought, Sketch becomes terrified and hides under the bed. The guard tells Chase that Sketch reacted similarly when a television was turned on the previous night. Chase and Mandy discuss the case over coffee. She explains the process for placing Sketch in foster care and the difficulty of finding an available home willing to take him, and she reveals that Unc and Lorna have applied to be his foster parents. Chase vouches for them. When he returns to the room, he finds Unc calmly watching the movie with Sketch, who’s now eating popcorn and seems engrossed.

A flashback explains the events that led to Unc’s imprisonment. In 1979, during a severe tornado, Unc, who then went by “Liam,” found the family bank broken into. He apprehended an intruder, James Brown Gilbert, and locked them both in the vault for safety. The next day, Unc was celebrated as a hero, but the triumph was short-lived. His father, Ellsworth, and the family lawyer, Perry Kenner, were found dead, with Kenner’s hand still gripping the pistol. Unc’s first wife, Suzanne, was found dead on the floor behind Ellsworth’s chair, and the scene initially appeared to implicate Kenner in the deaths. An audit then revealed that $7 million in untraceable bearer bonds were missing from the vault, and Unc was arrested for the theft. His brother, Jack, who had a poker-game alibi, publicly disowned him and became a town hero by using the Zuta as collateral to save the bank. Unc was convicted and sentenced to 47 years. 

In prison, he signed over power of attorney for his three-year-old son to the State of Georgia and asked that the boy’s file be sealed to protect him from the scandal. Five months later, the boy was kidnapped. Unc sold his remaining 25% ownership in the Zuta to Jack to raise a $4 million ransom, while retaining his childhood home and the Sanctuary. Jack left the ransom at the designated location, but the kidnappers never appeared; when the area was searched, both the boy and the money were gone. The boy’s body was found the following day on the courthouse steps. Sometime later, Unc, then going by “Willee,” was pardoned based on unspecified new evidence. After his release, he married Lorna Sanchez, whom he had met while she worked at the prison, and they later registered their home as a foster home after being unable to have children. Chase concludes that the theft of the bonds, the three deaths, the kidnapping and murder of Unc’s son, the missing ransom money, and the evidence behind Unc’s pardon all remain unresolved.

The following morning, Chase invites a pale Tommye to go fishing with him later. Sketch calls the farm and communicates with Chase by tapping on the phone, indicating that he wants to communicate with Chase and that it can wait a day. Chase tells Unc and Lorna about meeting Mandy Parker and learning that Sketch is expected to be placed in foster care soon. Unc explains that Sketch’s situation reminds him of his own three-year-old son, who 27 years earlier had similarly sat alone among strangers, waiting for someone to rescue him. He says that no child should have to endure that. Chase tells Unc that he’s comfortable with Unc and Lorna taking Sketch in.

Chase arrives at the hospital and learns that Sketch has been discharged to the Glynn County Boys’ Home. The news triggers Chase’s own painful memories of the foster-care system. He finds Sketch in a small, windowless room at the home. Sketch leads him to a dolly of empty soda bottles and points to the bottler’s name stamped on the glass: “Jesup Brothers Bottlers” (94). Through his drawings and gestures, Sketch confirms that Bo works on those trucks, shaking his head when asked if Bo drives them and nodding when asked if he works on them. They share Mountain Dews and MoonPies and agree to play chess the next day. After promising to return the next day, Chase worries that he has given the boy false hope. He immediately calls Mandy, tells her that he has a lead, and meets her to discuss it. When Chase says he plans to visit Jesup Brothers Bottlers to find someone who knows Bo, Mandy offers to accompany him.

In a detailed flashback, Chase remembers his first day with Unc and Lorna. Unc picked him up from a boys’ home and, on the drive to Brunswick, showed him uncommon kindness, asking his preferences and remaining calm when Chase spilled a drink. He gave Chase a tour of the town, speaking about his estranged brother and pointing out the bank he owned. He then took Chase to see the ocean for the first time. At the farm, Lorna greeted him warmly. During dinner, Unc was overcome with emotion and unable to say grace. That night, after tucking Chase into bed, Unc set up a sprinkler outside and aimed it so that water fell on the tin roof above Chase’s room. The gentle sound of the water helped him fall asleep within minutes and sleep for 10 hours.