Plot Summary:George Adams is an all-around railroad yard worker in a small Oklahoma town in 1952. He also works a night shift as a sort of local constable to patrol the small town, for which he earns $40 per month. Everyone likes George and most people get along with him. He lives with his wife and two sons, about 9 and 11 years old, and his wife's sister who will be starting college in the fall. His world is about to change as the railroads retire steam engines in favor of diesels. As George says, this is a year he'll never forget.