In 1972, two boys arrive in the Texas panhandle at Cal Farley's Boys Ranch, where hundreds of boys live year around. Runt, who comes from a broken home and dreams of his family one day taking him back, is mostly a goody two shoes. Razzberry, an orphan going into the fourth grade with him, is a troublemaker. Inseparable and forever impish, they get branded the Salt and Pepper Gang when they are put on restriction and extra duty for their foul misdeeds on their way to becoming Boys Ranchers. And then, the aftermath: the Navy and the imaginary dog, going to jail and being on the run from the law, the bounty hunter, Texas State Prison and the chain gang, waking up in an insane asylum, battling against autism, divorce, and the wasteland of middle age. When Razzberry has a stroke and the entire left side of his body is paralyzed, he is broken in body and spirit. Runt finds him at long last and takes him to Bonnaroo and other music festivals across the American southeast so that music and the beauty of life could work their wonders. The timeless theme of is that of the "Fortunate Fall," the idea that good sometimes results from an unfortunate event.