A boy comes of age when his family is forever changed.1930 in a hardscrabble western Pennsylvania town where life revolves around the rough labor of mining and burning of coal to make "coke" for the Pittsburg steel mills.Dan, the oldest of seven children growing up on River Avenue, is the quiet peacekeeper in his family, staying out of the way of his domineering father. Dan's emotional center is his loving but distracted mother. When she deteriorates in grief after the death of her five-year-old son, Dan supports his mother's slow efforts to rejoin their family life. On the day he is most hopeful for her recovery, she disappears.Dan struggles to hold life together for his siblings as he seeks answers about his mother. When Dan uncovers devastating secrets his parents kept from each other, he must confront their tyrant father. Older Dan reflects on the life-altering choices he made and the man he became to save his family.