Thinking / I will bolt, / I am shown the rope / To judge / Whether I find / The braid / To my liking. / Hide and hair, / Sinew and / Fiber: / Lariats created / For barter and raiding / And war and the / Quelling of beeves…

Conover, Nebraska, 1986… As summer break winds-down, Lee and Rocky Keller inherit a joy-buzzer from Grandpa Steve’s service in the Pacific. A war trophy, the buzzer acts the part—the horror!

Lee Keller’s life is hell—a hormonal brother, troubled parents, oblivious grandparents, a girl-friend, football practice, the first day of middle school… oh yes, and the Boy of Smoke, harbinger of the Faceless One.