Assassinations, burning cities, and the bloodiest phase of the Vietnam War combined to make 1968 the most tumultuous year in modern American history. But what was it like for a young boy struggling to grow up during this time? Young Jimmy and his group of friends role-play war almost daily despite the fact that their fathers, World War II veterans, never talk about their combat experiences. Even when three local men return from Vietnam physically and emotionally wounded, the boys blithely continue their games. In the rough-and-tumble mining village of Alpha in remote northern Michigan, schoolyard fights, an iron mine catastrophe, and returning Vietnam soldiers mark Jimmy's search for manhood. But it isn't until a fateful ride off a ski jump with a friend that Jimmy eventually learns both the horrors of war and the key to reaching manhood.