Callie LeRoux has never known her father. When she was little he abandoned her and her mother for some other woman. In the heart of the Dust Bowl, in Slow Run, Kansas, Callie and her mother constantly fight for their health against the dust. Then, Callie's mother disappears. In desperation, Callie takes the advice of a mystery man, who tells her she will find both her parents in the golden hills of California. If only she can get there.