A boy recounts his annual summer trips to rural Illinois with his sister during the Great Depression to visit their larger-than-life grandmother.

Prologue -- Shotgun Cheatham's last night above ground, 1929 -- The mouse in the milk, 1930 -- A one-woman crime wave, 1931 -- The day of judgment, 1932 -- The phantom brakeman, 1933 -- Things with wings, 1934 -- Centennial summer, 1935 -- The troop train, 1942.