Akron, Ohio, known by some G-men during the Great Depression as the toughest town in the nation, is a noxious, dirty city in a perpetual snow globe of soot and the stink of burning tires. Yet, that smell means money, and eighteen-year-old Deet Jenkins has just graduated to his second station in life-rubber worker in one of Akron's numerous tire-producing factories. Worse yet, from his fanatical fascist Cleveland relatives to rumors of communists within his tire-building plant, democracy is on trial . . . and he's surrounded by its prosecution. Becoming a good union man while navigating a course to protect his family and his girlfriend comes with a price. When everything seems to be falling apart, the F.B.I. bursts into his life and puts him behind the eight ball. Will Deet remain loyal or be labeled a traitor?