The Four Winds

It’s 1921 in the Texas Panhandle town of Dalhart, and Elsinore “Elsa” Wolcott is turning 25 tomorrow. Economically in these parts, times are good. Farmers like her father have profited from high demand for wheat and corn and good crops. The Wolcotts are third-generation Texans, and Elsa’s grandfather, Walter, was a Texas Ranger.

With most women being married by the age of 20, Elsa worries about the prospect of spinsterhood. Elsa is too thin, too tall (six feet!), and less attractive than her beautiful younger sisters, Charlotte and Suzanna (both married). She fears that her future will consist of living with her parents and their household maid, Maria, eventually caring for her parents when Maria retires. In contrasts with her dreams of college, writing, finding a husband and having children.

Elsa calmly tell her parents she wants to attend college and become a writer, but her father (Eugene Wolcott) says that she is being “hysterical”, and Elsa drops the issue. Elsa had rheumatic fever at 14, which cut off her studies. Instead, she has spent her time in her room reading books.

Elsa heads to the library, and is stopped by Mr. Hurst, a proprietor who owns a number of businesses in town. He mentions a new shipment of red silk that her sisters might be interested in, but Elsa decides to purchase it for herself. And when she gets home, Elsa tells herself to “be brave” before chopping off her hair into a chin-length bob. When her mother (Minerva Wolcott) sees it, she is horrified.

After the haircut, Elsa stays in her room. She gets inspired to sew her red fabric into a daringly modern dress. With her dress and makeup on, she walks down the stairs with confidence. Even when her father sees her and calls it a “harlot dress”, she insists on wearing it out. Unfortunately, Frank at the town speakeasy says her father wouldn’t approve of him letting her in.

Instead, Elsa runs into a tall stranger, Raffaello “Rafe” Martinelli, who she flirts boldly with. He tells her that he’s from Lonesome Tree, thirty miles away. He takes her for a ride on his truck, and they drive it out to a barn at an abandoned homestead. In the back bay of the truck, they lay on quilts, watch the stars and talk about wanting more in life. Soon, they are kissing and have sex — but then he abruptly says he should get her home.

When she gets home, her father is furious. He smacks her across the jaw, leaving a bruise. The next day, her mother offers little sympathy. Instead, she reminds Elsa that she’s unmarriageable, she tells her she should accept her lot in life, and then her mother takes the red dress from her.

On the 4th of July, Elsa’s bruise has faded, but she feels even more restless than before. Elsa attends a party at Dalhart Grange Hall with her parents. She is upset to see that her sisters are wearing a scarf and a blouse made from the fabric that was once her red silk dress. At the party, she also runs into Rafe, who looks uncomfortable because he is with his wife, Gia Composto. Still, they make plans to meet up that night at midnight.

Elsa meets Rafe at the same barn, and they have sex again. Then, Rafe tells her he is leaving for college in August. He’s not enthused about it, wanting to learn by doing instead.

In mid-August, Elsa discovers she is pregnant. Her mother is the one to suggest it when she sees Elsa throwing up constantly. When her father finds out, Elsa is forced to disclose who “ruined” her. Then, her parents tell her to pack a bag, and they drive to the Martinelli farm. There, her father Eugene tells Tony Martinelli (Rafe’s father) that Elsa is expecting. Then, he disowns Elsa and leaves.

Rose Martinelli (Rafe’s mother) protests at first, but Tony puts a stop to it and quickly decides that Rafe needs to marry Elsa. Rose demands that Elsa convert to Catholicism. Meanwhile, Elsa asks for reassurance Rose will love her baby, so the child can grow up feeling loved. Rose agrees.

Rose helps Elsa move in, and afterwards Rafe promises Elsa that he will try to be a good husband. The next morning, Elsa wakes at nine to find everyone else has long started their workday. They are surrounded by wheat farms, and Tony explains that he also makes wine, a skill passed down from his family in Sicily. Meanwhile, Rose intends to teach Elsa to cook.

Rafe and Elsa are married unceremoniously with a quick exchange of rings. Elsa converts faithfully as promised, though she struggles with learning to cook. Still, she does not give up and eventually improves. Even more hopefully, she beings to feel like she belongs, and she starts to imagine a future where her children are happy there. Still, Rafe continues to imagine a life in a big city elsewhere, and he often drinks.

Winter comes and goes. In February, Elsa has the baby, a little girl they name Loreda (after her grandfather Walter who was born in Loredo). Rose shows Elsa a American coin with two wheat stalks on it which Tony found in Italy before they left. They consider it a lucky coin that pointed them toward their destiny.

Elsa rides her horse Milo into town. Her dress is made from old flour sacks, as is customary now. Times are tough, with the past few years seeing The Great Depression and severe drought. Around town, many businesses are shut down, and needy children line up for food at the church. Though Prohibition is now repealed, not many have money for drink.

Elsa goes to the Silo Saloon to find Rafe slumped over, drunk. Elsa has since had two more children, but one died three years ago. Elsa notes that the death of their son, Lorenzo, hadn’t “broken” him the way that poverty and famine did. Meanwhile, Loreda (12) and their other son, Anthony (“Ant” who is 7), need new shoes while Rafe drinks away money that they don’t have.

Loreda at 12 is moody and angry. She thinks of her mother as being joyless and constantly harping about saving money. Loreda imagines herself leaving here for something bigger, like going off to Hollywood with her father. Loreda’s teacher, Nicole Buslik, is the only teacher the town has. Loreda’s closest friend is Stella Devereaux.

The family (Elsa, Rafe, Loreda, Ant) head to the auction house. They run into another farmer, Will Bunting, who says the bank has foreclosed on his land, and he’s leaving for California in hopes of finding work and new opportunities. Afterwards, Loreda dreams about the life they could have there, but Rafe tells her that his parents and Elsa would never want to leave. He reassures her that it will rain.

While Elsa accepted the Martinelli’s love for this land as her own, she sees that Loreda has adopted her father’s outlook. Rafe has filled Loreda’s head with ideas of faraway places, and he tells her about his complaints about farm life. As a result, Loreda is now unhappy there.

As she does her chores, Elsa sees that a dust storm is approaching. Elsa and Rafe hurry inside as the walls shake and winds howl. Meanwhile, Loreda and Ant are hiding in the schoolhouse. Afterwards, Mrs. Buslik leads them out. Loreda and Ant head toward town along with Stella and her younger sister, Sophia. Elsa rides up to take them home.

Back on the farm, as Loreda does chores, the ground near her suddenly splits open from the dryness and heat, revealing a chasm.

As Elsa sadly looks out at all the dead vegetation around her, Elsa recalls how she’d once brought Loreda as an infant to her parents’ house in hopes that they would accept her back, but they had shut the door in her face. She never saw them again, but their absence and knowing they didn’t love her still bothers her.

As Elsa thinks about how Loreda also doesn’t love her, Rose comes and comforts her. Rose has been a loving maternal figure to Elsa, and the two women share a strong bond. Later, Elsa sees Rafe crying over how difficult life has become.

Through September, the heat refuses to let up, with temperatures reaching up to 115, and the plants continue to die. Elsa worries about how they will feed the livestock. She tends a flower in a small garden near the kitchen window. Meanwhile, Rafe continues to withdraw from Elsa.

The Pioneer Days celebration comes up, a holiday which used to be exuberant and patriotic. Now, it’s more pared down and everyone looks ratty, but they still show up nonetheless. At the party, Stella tells Loreda that the town bank is closing, and that her family is going to leaving, too.

Loreda is devastated by Stella’s news. Loreda goes outside to find Rafe crying. They talk about how everyone is leaving, and how they could die out here. They also receive gas masks donated by the Red Cross to help them cope with the dust storms. The next morning, Elsa finds Rafe at the family cemetery in front of the headstone of their son. Rafe tells Elsa that he wants to leave to try to find a job in California. Elsa says that they have no money for gas or even shoes if they wanted to walk, and then there was his parents. Rage suggests leaving his parents behind.

Afterwards, Elsa considers telling Rafe that she would think about it if he really felt he had to go. At night, she finds him to tell him that she would consider leaving, but Rafe agrees that it’s impracticable for them all to go. They make love. The next morning, Rafe is gone.

Elsa hurries to the train station, where the attendant Mr. McElvaine, reluctantly admits that her husband didn’t have money for a ticket. Instead, Rafe jumped a train, leaving only a note. The note is short and asks Elsa not to look for him. When she goes home, she first tells Rose and Tony what happened, and they are aghast. Then, she tells the kids. Loreda screams and cries, while Ant is sad and cries.

Afterwards, Elsa tries to comfort Loreda, but she refuses to be consoled. She blames her mother for driving him away. Loreda runs off. Then, a dust storm descends. Elsa runs inside and looks for the kids, but Ant says Loreda has run away. Sure enough, Loreda has left a note saying she’s gone to look for Rafe. Elsa goes out, determined to find Loreda. She goes to the barn to get the truck, which results in their horse Bruno running into the storm. In town, Elsa sees that Loreda is at the train station, and they take shelter in the depot.

That night, Elsa takes out the one article of clothing Rafe left behind, a blue chambray shirt. She decides to wear it as a scarf. Outside, she sees that Bruno is dead. As she lays in bed, she thinks about what her parents said about no man being able to love her, and she considers that they were right.

The next day, Elsa stays asleep, too sad to get out of bed. Loreda has never seen her mother like this. Loreda understands on some level that it’s not entirely her mother’s fault that their father left, but thinking that he could leave her (Loreda) makes Loreda feel hopeless. When Loreda sees Elsa in bed, Rose tries to explain that Elsa’s heart is broken, and that Rafe was foolish and has filled Loreda’s head with “fluff”. Rose advises Loreda to someday find a man who is reliable, but Loreda doesn’t want to hear any of it.

After Loreda leaves, Rose comforts Elsa. Rosa admits that she spoiled Rafe, since she was so grateful for a child to survive after having experienced the death of three daughters before him. She says that she loved her son too much, just as Elsa’s parents loved her too little.

In November, snow falls and people feel hopeful of rain to come. But it is cold still, and the dying trees mean that the town’s supply of firewood is running low. Elsa chops up what once was the pig pen to be used as firewood.

At church, another family inquires about whether Rafe has found a job, since Tony has not told them the shameful truth that Rafe abandoned them. Letter have been received all over of news of family members that have moved West and found jobs, with encouragement to join them. Despite knowing the logistical reasons why the plan was bad, a part of Elsa wishes she would’ve just agreed to go to California, and she misses Rafe.

In late December, there’s a town meeting planned regarding possible governmental assistance. The family heads to town for the meeting, and they stop at the store as well. Mr. Pavlov, who runs the town store, was once the wealthiest man around, but he is struggling now as well. Still, he gives the Martinellis some free licorice for the kids as a kindness.

The meeting takes place in the old schoolhouse. A man introduces himself as Hugh Bennett, a representative of the U.S. Conservation Corps. He informs the farmers that in order to survive, they will need to alter their farming methods to employ soil conservation. He says that the grass they’ve dug up was holding the topsoil in place. When the drought came, the earth became dry and the topsoil blew away. When he tells them that they’ve contributed to the current situation, farmers start walking out.

Then Bennett continues, saying that the farmers will be paid to not plant crops next year and to instead plant grass. They’ll also be paid sixteen dollars a head for livestock. At the idea that farmers will not farm crops, Tony is angry. The Martinellis walk out and others follow.

That night, Loreda acknowledges that she’s been a “crumb” (a jerk) to Elsa since Rafe left. Loreda offers to get a job to help out, but Elsa says that there’s no jobs. Then, Loreda suggests they move West in the spring, but again Elsa says no. She says they have food and shelter here, but half the country is unemployed so there’s no guarantee there will have work if they leave. Seeing her upset, Elsa decides to give Loreda Rafe’s shirt (the one she’s been using as a scarf).

The first week of March, winter is finally over and Loreda turns thirteen. As they enjoy the spring weather, the rain finally falls. The family is overjoyed. That night as they celebrate and rain and Loreda’s birthday, Rose passes around the family’s lucky penny for people to make wishes on, as is their custom (on New Years, birthdays and when planting season comes). But Loreda refuses it, saying she no longer believes in it because it failed to keep their family together. But Rose reassures Loreda that she will believe again eventually.

The next day, Elsa wakes up with renewed hope as Tony looks at the new growth sprouting from the field.

In mid-March, there are eight straight days of 100 degree heat, and the family’s spirits begin to dampen. Elsa does the laundry even though it is blindingly hot and it seems pointless when everything gets dusty anyway. As they haul water from the well, they regret not laying pipe before. Loreda reluctantly helps to make soap, which they plan to sell.

They hear a noise in the barn, which turn out to be Milo (the horse), who is dying. Tony explains that the horse must be shot, since it is in pain, but he’s too sad as he thinks about how the farm has failed them. Loreda thinks about how much she loved Milo, gets the gun and shoots him. Afterwards, they see another dust storm headed their way.

The dust storms rage for the entire week. Even with the gas mask, Ant is weak, has a bad cough and is soon unable to get out of bed. Elsa tries to milk the cow to give him some milk, but even the milk is muddy. Elsa thinks to herself that the cows will likely die after inhaling so much dirt. Tony consoles her by saying that at least the government will give them some money for it.

The dust storm settles, but Ant now has a fever. His eyes are red from the dust and his cough is still bad. Seeing how poorly he’s doing, she wants to take him to Doc Rheinhart, but realizes that they have no horse. Instead, she puts him in a wheelbarrow, so she can push him the two miles into town. Elsa determinedly pushes the wheelbarrow for a mile until the rest of the family catches up. They take over, and together they travel into town.

There is a makeshift hospital set up, and Ant is given a bed that opened up that morning (meaning that someone else had died). The doctor quickly diagnoses him with a fever and severe silicosis, a lung disease where inhalation of the silica (present in the prairie dust) causes the air sacs in lungs to be torn (referred to as “dust pneumonia”). Elsa wants to stay, but there is no space for visitors. The doctor recommends leaving Ant at the hospital for at least a week or two, but he also says that if they really want to save Ant, they need to leave Texas for somewhere with clearer air.

Afterwards, it’s decided it’s time to leave.

Back at home, Loreda is upset because she doesn’t know what’s going on. She assumes that worst that Ant is dying, but the adults don’t want to tell her. Finally, Elsa sits down with Loreda, and tells her that they are leaving Texas as soon as Ant is better.

The family makes preparations to leave, such as harvesting some viable plants along with their roots and preparing whatever foods they can. As they work, Mr. Gerald, their banker, comes to deliver the unfortunate news that the bank is preparing to foreclose on 160 acres of their land unless they’re able to make some sort of payment to hold them off. Mr. Gerald then informs him that the land will be auctioned off on April 16.

Ten days after dropping him off, Ant is feeling better. Elsa tears up in relief. She tells Ant that they’ll take him home in a few days and then off to California. Back at home, Elsa digs up the small flower she’d once planted and places it in the earth near Lorenzo’s headstone. The flower slumps over immediately.

Then, a huge flock of birds fly by, heralding a thick dust storm that ravages the land. Elsa rushes inside with the rest of the family. She puts the gas mask on Loreda and they hide in the darkness, under a sheet thrown over a table. When she awakes, she struggles to open the front door, only to discover that outside everything is covered in black dirt.

With that, Elsa decides they are leaving immediately while they’re all still alive. They pack as much as they can into the car. Elsa thinks back to leaving her parents house and how she was only able to pack a few belongings before starting off anew. Right before they depart, Tony and Rose announce that they are not leaving. They know Elsa needs to leave, but they plan to stay and take the government’s offer to plant grass on the land as part of the collective effort required to save the Great Plains. They entrust her with their lucky penny.

Elsa is scared to embark on this trip alone, but Rose assures her that she is all the children need. At the hospital, the doctor warns that Art will need a year to fully recover and may have asthma in the future. As art comes toward them, Elsa sees that Art has no shoes (they broke), and then they head off into an uncertain future.

On the road, Elsa is filled with doubt about her ability to handle the challenges ahead. She wonders how she will find a job, and how she will watch her children even if she has a job. Loreda notes that Tony and Rose gave them most of the government money they received. Loreda also explains that Grandpa Tony has been teaching her things like how to hunt or how to put water in the radiator. She suspects they knew all along that they weren’t going to be coming along. They also gave Loreda a compass. Ant likens them to an Explorer’s Club.

They drive through Dalhart, and Elsa sees a foreclosure notice on the door of the Wolcott home and the family business is boarded up. Loreda keeps an eye out for men that could be Rafe. When Elsa stops for gas, the attendant warns her of a “bad element” out there so she shouldn’t keep her cash in her handbag. Elsa realizes that she needs to be more careful.

When they stop for the night, a man tries to siphon their gas and demands Elsa’s money when she spots him. Loreda scares him off with the shotgun. It occurs to Elsa that her children would lose their innocence in the course of their trip and that there was a lot she hadn’t anticipated.

They continue to drive west, but soon they reach a point where the Mojave Desert lays ahead. She worries of how the car engine will fare in those conditions and what they will do if it fails.

Elsa stops at a gas station in time to see a hunger riot nearby as a mob attacks a grocery store belonging to the local mayor. As they head into the desert, they see a sign indicating to travelers that they need to bring water with them from that point on.

Driving through the desert in the night to avoid the heat, the engine still overheats. As instructed, she waits for it to cool down before adding water. Thankfully, it starts back up. She keeps driving up a mountain until she’s too tired to continue. When she wakes, Loreda points to the sight of green farmlands with excitement.

She continues driving through the winding mountain roads of the San Joaquin Valley, surrounded by lush greenery. Elsa stops the car and asks the kids where they should go. She stops at a gas station, but the man is rude to her because of her disheveled appearance after days of driving and camping out.

After Elsa’s unpleasant encounter with a man who assumes they are impoverished, she considers the discriminatory attitudes her own father had held against people of different backgrounds. She resolves to raise her kids better.

Elsa spots a nice house and goes to inquire about it. However, when she offers to pay part now and part when she gets a job, the woman suggests that she leave. The woman also says they don’t rent to “Okies”, and instead, the woman directs her to a campground.

The campground is filled with tents and looks like a shantytown, but Elsa doesn’t want to drive around and waste gas when they only have $27 left. Instead, she opts to stay the night there. They talk to a couple, Jeb Dewey and his Jean, who have been living there for nine months with their kids. Jeb explains that his family gets work picking cotton on the farms, but there’s no work during the winter. They also explain the farms here owned by large businesses, as opposed to being small farmers. His kids pick cotton, too, instead of going to school since otherwise they would starve.

Jeb recommends going to the relief office for help, but Elsa bristles at the suggestion. The next day, Elsa goes to inquire at a house and is offered some work scrubbing floors, along with a firm warning not to speak unless spoken to.

Loreda wakes up to see that her mother is gone. Instead, Jean tells her that Elsa went looking for work. When Loreda talks about going to Hollywood, Jean tells Loreda, in a nice way, that she will need to grow out of her childish thoughts. Instead, she instructs Loreda to go boil some water and do the laundry to help her mother out. When Ant wakes, Loreda tells him to help out, too.

Meanwhile, Elsa spends the day cleaning and doing household chores. After 10 hours of work, the woman is rude to her and then only gives her 40 cents. Elsa is taken aback by the low pay, vowing to search for better paying work tomorrow. When she goes home and tells Loreda that they need to stay at the camp for now, Loreda is horrified and angry, but it’s the only option. That night, Elsa pens a cheery letter to Tony and Rose to let them know they made it.

The next day, Elsa gets the kids ready for school a mile away. Jean lends her a pair of shoes for Ant, and she pushes Elsa yet again to register for relief just in case. At the school, the other kids are dressed in clean, new clothes. The school administration and other kids all notice how unkept the Martinelli kids are, but they are taken into class nonetheless.

At the state relief office, Elsa is informed that she will be eligible for relief after establishing residency, so in one year’s time (the clock starts the day she signs up). In the meantime, the attendant points her to the food line for support until then.

When Elsa goes to pick up her kids from school, she finds out that Ant got in a fight when he was punched by another kid and Loreda was laughed at by the other kids for her lunch food. Back at the camp, Jean introduces Elsa to the other women around there, Midge from Kansas and Nadine from South Carolina.

After a few weeks, Elsa settled into a routine of getting up to find work, oftentimes not successfully. Elsa knows her savings are slowly being depleted. They get a letter back from Tony and Rose who report that the government will additionally be paying them to contour the land and sending them love. One day, Elsa gets dressed up to attend a PTA meeting at the kids’ school. Though the other women try to tell her to leave Elsa stays and then takes all their snacks as they leave. She gives the cookies and sandwiches to her kids as a treat.

That night, Jean admits to Elsa that she’s pregnant again and worried about how she’s going to feed yet another child.

In June, Elsa is able to get consistent work on the cotton field for 50 cents a day, but there’s rumors that they’ll be decreasing the pay for cotton farmers soon. There’s so many migrants coming to California that people are desperate for work. When school lets out, Loreda tells her mother that she’s going to have to work as well so they can save money that they’ll need when there’s no work during the winter.

In July, the Martinellis head to Northern California with other migrant workers to pick fruit when there is little work in the cotton fields. When fruit season is over, they head elsewhere to find other work.

In September, they return to their original camp to find work in the cotton fields. They see that the camp has now grown considerably. Elsa now has only $20 ($7 less than when they’d arrived), after these many months of labor and despite the need to save up for winter. Elsa and Loreda decide that they will both work instead of having Loreda go to school. However, Loreda will resume her education after the cotton season is over and Ant will continue his studies.

There’s a steep learning curve, but eventually they are able to get to the point where they pick enough cotton to be earning around $4 a day between the two of them. With cotton season over, Loreda will soon be returning to school, which she is reluctant to do. Trying to re-inspire her kids, Elsa takes her them into town.

Elsa brings the kids into a salon, Betty Ane’s Beauty Shop, explaining to the proprietor that she doesn’t want Loreda to be teased in school. When Betty Ane goes to fetch her husband Ned, Elsa thinks Betty Ane is trying to kick them out, but it turns out that Ned is giving them some old clothes for the winter since they are former migrants as well. He also offers to let them take a hot shower there.

After they all have haircuts and are fixed up, Loreda feels transformed. She’s reminded of the girl she used to be. Loreda walks into a library and asks for a library card. Even without the card yet, the woman still lets her check out a book for now.

By late December, Elsa realizes they will not have enough money to get through the rest of the winter. With relief only coming in April, she needs start standing in the food line for help until then. She waits for hours in the cold to pick up a small box of food, though she’ll have to wait another two weeks to get another. She sees a man there encouraging the unionization of workers, but the man is beaten and dragged away by cops.

On Christmas morning, Elsa reveals that she has a letter from Rosa and Tony and small gifts for the kids. She also shows Loreda that she went back to town and picked up her library card. She know the the card means that “there was still a future. A world beyond this struggle.” The kids also give Elsa a journal for her Christmas gift.

In late January, Jean shouts for help when she realizes the baby is coming. Jean senses that something is wrong, so Elsa drives her to the hospital. The hospital refuses to admit her, saying that migrants don’t pay taxes, and she gives her a pair of gloves instead. Elsa deliver’s Jeans baby, but it is stillborn. Jean names it Clea, after her mother.

Seeing the baby’s death, Loreda is upset. In anger, she blames her mother for all that has happened to them. Later, when Elsa goes to talk to Loreda, she realizes that Loreda has run away, leaving just a note.

The truck driver introduces himself as Jack Valen. He tells Loreda he needs to make a stop before he drops her off. He drives out to a barn. Loreda is worried at first, but it turns out to be a group of men and women called the Workers Alliance, interested in advocating on behalf of workers. Loreda is gripped by the feeling that she wants to be a part of their fight, and as she talks to Jack, she realizes that she doesn’t want to leave her family. Then, the police come, arrest Jack and break up the meeting.

Elsa goes to the police station to report Loreda missing. The police know they are unlikely to find her and instead they reassure Elsa that her child will likely return home. At the station, she recognizes the man she saw get beat up when she was waiting in the food line (Jack Valen). Jack notices Elsa’s resemblance to the girl he picked up earlier today and offers Elsa a ride home, but Elsa thinks he looks ragged and untrustworthy. She declines and leaves.

Loreda returns home and apologizes to her mom. She excitedly tells her about the meeting she attended, but Elsa recoils at the idea of aligning with communists and antagonizing their employers. She says that they don’t have the “luxury of waging a philosophical war”.

The next few days are filled with rain as the ditch nearby fills up. Then one night as they are sleeping, a flash flood hits. They watch in horror as the flowing waters dismantle their tent and their stove is washed away. Elsa knows they will never see the box with their money again. As the people flee, Elsa turns back to get their truck. Thankfully it works, and she drives it out of the mud and into safety. She sees Loreda in a truck ahead and follows.

Elsa is led into Welty and in front of a boarded-up hotel. The man driving the truck is Jack Valen, who Elsa remembers. He leads them into the hotel (which is purposely made to look abandoned) where he says they may stay a couple nights. While Loreda and Ant clean up in the shower, Elsa goes with Jack to provide assistance to the other flooded-out migrants. They work all through the night, getting everyone to safety. The next morning, tired and seeing the devastation, Elsa collapses. She awakes in Jack’s truck, and Jack helps her into the hotel room. She falls asleep freshly washed and sleeping on clean sheets.

The next morning, Loreda and Ant go outside to see a number of aid organization lined up with supplies and food, as well as a table with a woman from Workers United. Loreda marches up to the woman, Natalia, and announces her intention to be a part of their fight. The woman tells her to take some shoes and clothes, and she instructs Loreda to help pour coffee if she wants to help. After a while, Loreda is see how few people have taken the flyers they left on the table and how no one but herself signed up to help the cause.

Loreda thinks about how she wants to be more of a fighter like Jack and less of a “faithless” dreamer like her father. Natalia tells her about how Jack had previously helped to advocate for Mexican immigrants and ended up in prison for a year. She says that they want to help the migrants to organize, but they’ve been met with a lot of resistance.

In the morning, Elsa worries about all their belongings, food and saving being gone, but the sight of her kids volunteering and pouring coffee for others fills her with hope. Jack takes Elsa to a Welty camp where there is a cabin that vacated yesterday. The cabins have mattresses, concrete floors and electricity for 6 dollars a month, and the workers there get first dibs on the jobs at Welty farm. The man at the guardhouse advises that most of the people live on relief until cotton season.

She talks to Jack and thanks him for his help, but she maintains her stance against communism. Jack tells Elsa about his mother, who died in a factory fire because they boarded up the doors to prevent workers from taking cigarette breaks. He explains that it was what drove him to do the work he does. He continues to try to convince Elsa to join the cause, but she remains against it.

The next day, Loreda and Ant are sent to the school nearby on the Welty farm grounds, where other migrant kids also attend. At school, Loreda sits next to a boy named Bobby Rand, who shares his textbook with her. But when Loreda asks a question about unionism, she gets reprimanded by the teacher, who says that it is un-American. Afterwards, Loreda heads to the library. The librarian offers her a book on worker’s rights called Ten Days That Shook the World by John Reed, but she cautions Loreda about being careful about what she says to other people about this topic.

In the Welty camp, Elsa enjoys the convenience of having shopping and laundry nearby, but she notes that the stores prices are quite high. The store allows her to buy things on credit, but Elsa has to temper her impulses, knowing easy it could be to overspend on credit. Afterwards, Elsa drives back to the original camp to find the Dewey family, all living out of the back of a truck. She gives Jean some food, not knowing what else to do. When she leaves, she’s upset and runs into Jack who tries unsuccessfully to comfort her.

By March, Loreda is now 14, and Elsa has wracked up a considerable amount of debt. Each day, she goes looking for work still, waiting for her relief to kick in at the end of April. When the day finally comes, she qualifies for 13.50 per month. There, she also learns that the federal government has cut funding for the food line. On the way back, with her relief money, Elsa gives two dollars to Jean.

Elsa comes up with a plan to pay down her debt, but the store refuses her money, since they only allow you to buy on credit. Elsa realizes that Welty purposely keeps them in debt in hopes that they’ll overspend, need credit, borrow money, get charged interest and stay broke. Elsa also finds out that if she leaves the cabin to pick peaches, then she loses the cabin and the cotton job.

In June, Elsa goes off to work on the fields doing cotton tending. Loreda wants to go, but Elsa tells her she can only help with the cotton picking later in the year. Instead, Loreda heads off to school. As she nears, she hears the teacher talk about the girls learning to make cosmetics for the day, and Loreda changes her mind and goes to the library instead.

On the way, Loreda sees a sign for a town meeting at the theater, and she ends up going in. At the podium, there’s a man talking about the migrant problem in the state. They talk about how they all just live off welfare and have no reason to pick cotton. Loreda recognizes Mr. Welty who advocates for ending relief during cotton picking season. Then, Jack stands up and yells at the men, resulting in the police dragging him out and leaving him on the street, bleeding. Afterwards, they end up at a diner. Jack tells Loreda about how cotton prices are down and cotton growers are worried about their workforce potentially unionizing.

Meanwhile, Elsa finishes her workday and exchanges her chit (payment for her work) for credit (there’s a 10% fee for doing so and no other place to cash it in). She walks into their cabin to find Jack and Loreda there. Jack offers to take them out for the night. He takes them to a small, hustling Mexican restaurant, picks up some food, and then they head for a public park that was built by the WPA.

As the kids swim in the lake, Jack leads Elsa down as well, even though she doesn’t know how to swim. Instead he shows her how to float in the water. Afterwards, before Jack leaves, he lets Elsa know that he’ll be out of town for a while but that he wants to get to know her better. Elsa tells him that he “scares” her, referring to her feelings for him, but Jack thinks that she’s talking about the prospect of unionizing which he acknowledges is dangerous.

One day during the summer, Elsa and Jean get together, they talk about Jack, and Jean encourages Elsa to change the way she thinks of herself. Elsa thinks she’s unattractive and bad with men, but Jean says she’s let the way her parents and Rafe treated her dictate how she sees herself.

In September, it’s time to pick cotton. Elsa, Loreda and Ant all get ready to pick cotton. The boss requires that they purchase Welty bags even though they have their own. A line of workers are outside hoping for work, and Mr. Welty shows up to explain that he’s cutting wages by 10% that year. Loreda is furious, but Elsa shushes her.

After the day’s work is over, Loreda runs off in frustration. She overhears two men arguing about the prospect of organizing. One of them, Ike, supports the efforts. Loreda interrupts their conversation and tells them that she thinks they should strike. As she talks, she’s interrupted by Elsa, she takes her back to their cabin. Still, as the cotton picking continues, there’s a tension among the workforce regarding the decreased wages. Then, flyers for a meeting for the Worker’s Alliance are distributed. Loreda argues with her mother that they need to join the fight, but Elsa doesn’t want to risk their jobs and their cabin.

Loreda thinks to herself that she understands her mother’s fears, but she also thinks that Elsa’s “passion” has gone out while hers has not. Loreda attends the Worker’s Alliance meeting and hears as Jack calls for a strike among the workers. As she chants along with the crowd, Elsa shows up and chastises her, angry that Loreda would put them at risk in this way. Afterwards, Elsa sends Loreda away and talks to Jack. They get into an argument, with Elsa saying that Loreda is too young to understand what she’s doing. She warns Jack to stay away from Loreda.

The next day, Loreda spots Ike near the water pump, and he whispers to her that there’ll be a meeting in the laundry room at night. As she’s walking, Mr. Welty stops her and asks if she’s heard any whispers about organizing, but she lies and says no. Later, on the fields, fences have been put up, a tower has been erected and men with guns roam the field. Mr. Welty announces that because of the union organizers he’s had to implement more security precautions, which cost money. As a result, he’s lowering their wages by another 10%.

That night, Loreda is determined to go to the meeting that night. Elsa tries to stop her, and when she can’t, she decides to attend the meeting with Loreda. They listen in on the meeting, but then the sound of truck engines and a spray of headlights cause the men to disperse. Men with weapons emerge from the trucks, looking for people. Far away, they hear someone scream, but even that sound does not deter Loreda.

One week as Elsa heads down to the relief office, Loreda asks to drive in order to practice. As they wait in line, Mr. Welty shows up at the office. When Elsa gets to the front of the line, she learns that because she’s capable of picking cotton (as demonstrated by her address at Welty Farms), she’s not eligible for relief during cotton picking season.

As they leave the office, they run into a frantic-looking Jeb who reports that Jean is sick. She has a fever, and she thinks it’s typhoid. Elsa sends Loreda with the truck down to the Welty store to buy aspirin and a thermometer. Loreda returns to say that the shop is closed, likely because Welty wants to remind everyone of how dependent they are on their employers.

Elsa, instead goes to the hospital to beg for aspirin. When the woman refuses, Elsa grabs a bat and smashes the door and the desk until the woman gives her the aspirin in fear. Afterwards, the woman tells the security man to stop her, but he is also a former migrant and so he gives Elsa a five-dollar bill instead. Sadly, Jean dies. Elsa is heartbroken. With that, Elsa asks Loreda where to find the unionizers. Elsa, Loreda and Ant visit a barn that serves as an office for the Communists. Elsa talks to Jack and explains what happened. She tells him she’s ready to help organize the workers.

In the camp, people are paranoid about who may or may not be reporting back to Welty. Nonetheless, Loreda does her part to spread the word about a meeting on Friday.

They receive a letter from Rose and Tony giving word that the farm is seeing some progress with some abatement of the dust storms and the government delivering water to the farms. When Loreda asks if they’ll see them again, Elsa finally admits to Loreda that the house they’d seen in Dalhart was her former home, but her family rejected her. Instead, the farm with Tony and Rose was always her real home, and therefore yes, they would be back some day. Loreda tells Elsa that her family missed out by not seeing how “special” Elsa is.

At the meeting on Friday, hundreds of workers gather. Jack encourages Elsa to speak to the crowd, but Elsa pushes Jack to speak. He starts by telling them the history of how Mexican immigrants in California who had formerly done the picking were treated. When the Great Depression hit, the difficult times led to heightened fear of outsiders and the immigrants were deported. It was fortunate, then, for the agricultural industry that the dust bowl came along to provide new workers for the industry.

Jack then explains that they need to organize to ensure that they will be paid a living wage and to be treated fairly, unlike the workers who came before them. He encourages them to rise up lest they be used and mistreated. Then, just as Jack announces the sixth as the day of the strike on fields across the valley, the sound of police sirens ring out. Panic gripped the crowd and then Elsa felt something hit her head.

When Elsa comes to, she has a bloody welt on her head, and she is in an unfamiliar room with Jack next to her. Jack reassures her that Natalia is with the children, watching them back at the cabin. Jack explains that the barn was burned down and some arrests were made. Then, Jack admits his feelings for Elsa, which Elsa returns. After she takes a shower, the two of them have sex. Afterwards, Jack and Elsa return to the cabin to greet the anxiously awaiting kids.

On the sixth, news of the strike had spread, but no one knew for sure what would happen. That day, Welty shows up with many armed men to announce that he’s dropping the pay another 10%. Jack goes up to challenge him and say that the workers will strike. Elsa knows that everyone has received instructions to go into the fields and sit, but no one moves so she takes her kids and they go first. Elsa is unsure if anyone will join then, but when Ike begins to move, the workers start moving and they all sit as instructed.

That day, no cotton is picked and Loreda is delighted. Still, Elsa knows there’s a longer road ahead since most of the people have no savings and the Welty store and credit will not be available to any of them. That night, Elsa receives a notice to vacate her cabin within three days. However, Jack shows up that night and tells her she needs to get out even before then. He’s heard rumors of “trouble” incoming, and he takes them to the boarded-up hotel instead.

The next morning, Jack wakes Elsa with a kiss. That morning she writes in her journal that she is in love. She writes that the “four winds” have brought people from all over to this place to make a stand in the name of what is right. Elsa knows this will be a big, potentially dangerous day. Outside a small group has gathered and as they head toward the fields they chant “Fair pay!” as others join them as they walk and the various groups merge into a crowd of hundreds. Together, they block the road.

Near the entrance of Welty Farms stands Mr. Welty. Jack reminds the workers to stay peaceful, but not to let the strikebreakers in, who arrive in trucks behind them. The police show up. Then, a group of masked vigilantes with weapons approach Jack. They being beating him up, as he yells for Elsa. She knows she needs to take control. She starts telling the crowd of her story and why she is fighting for a fair wage (this is the passage from the prologue of the book). When she’s done, she starts up the chant of “No more!” and the crowd responds.

When a tear-gas bomb is thrown, the workers head for the fields to sit peacefully, but then Elsa is shot. Welty instructs the police to arrest Elsa, but the police are hesitant. Then, Loreda grabs a gun and points it squarely at Welty. The workers then filter into the fields, and the strike continues that day.

Immediately after, Jack takes Elsa to the hospital and demands a doctor. Elsa eventually awakes, but she knows she is dying. She says goodbye to her kids, and asks Jack to “take them home”. Before she dies, Elsa give Loreda the pouch containing the family’s lucky penny.

Later, Loreda notes that Elsa wanted them to go home to Texas, but there is an issue of money in order to make their way home. Determined, Loreda grabs a shotgun, dons boys’ clothing, and drives the truck to the Welty store. It’s empty. She demands money from the attendant, threatening to shoot him dead if he follows her. Afterwards, she discards the clothes, leaving her dress on instead. As men start searching for the culprit, they barely notice Loreda walking by in her dress. In total, she has 122 dollars.

That night as they camp out after their drive through the desert, Loreda thinks about the things she never said to her mother. Jack encourages her close her eyes and think her thoughts and talk to her mother that way.

In 1940, Loreda is home on her grandparents’ farm. The land is contoured, soil conservation plans are in place and the rain has returned. Loreda is 18 now. Loreda gets a package from Jack, who is now fighting a different war, against fascism this time. Inside, there is a book with a passage about Elsa and a grainy photo of her leading the workers in the strike.

Loreda is about to head off to college in California. She recalls her mother’s final words, “be brave”. She says goodbye to her mother’s headstone as she leaves to become the first Martinelli to go to college.