Jimmy Little is a fourteen-year-old boy who lives in a New York City apartment with his legal guardian that he calls "Mama Jean". His mother died and his father was imprisoned for murder and robbery.One day as Jimmy comes home from school, he finds that Mama Jean is not home. Instead, there is a man named Crab, who tells Jimmy that he is his father.When Mama Jean comes home, Crab explains that the prison let him out. Mama Jean was happy to see him. But when he explains that he wanted to take Jimmy with him across the country, Mama Jean is worried about what could happen on that trip. But she does not want to let Crab down. So she agrees to let him go on the trip.She gives Jimmy money for transportation and tells him to call her whenever he wants.Jimmy and Crab drive from state to state. During the trip, Jimmy finds out that Crab escaped from prison. He wants to be let out of the car immediately, but after a little while of talking and reasoning, Jimmy decides to stay with Crab.Crab takes Jimmy to Arkansas to meet his friends before he was wrongly put in jail. Some were nice people that he had no problems with. Others were stuck up jerks that Jimmy could not stand.In the end of the novel, Crab dies of kidney failure. Jimmy feels sad and can not get Crab out of his mind. Jimmy uses the money given to him by Mama Jean and heads back to New York.