Set in the Northwoods of Maine in an isolated logging community, Tanglefoot follows fourteen-year-old Charlie King as he learns the ropes of making, transporting and selling moonshine during the summer of 1920 right after prohibition begins. Charlie works for his controlling father, Caleb, and his kind Uncle Amos, and learns that he has unexpected abilities as a Native American shaman from his mentor, Hiram Francis. Authentic details about working in the woods and the natural surroundings of the lake set a dark framework for the consequences of the King family's business.