Dan Hutchens was a typical Nebraska farm boy of sixteen. At least he looked like a typical farm boy. In reality, he was far from typical. He was dreaming about changing his life completely. He wanted to run away and leave all his worldly possessions and his small town far behind. He wanted to get out of Nebraska. He wanted freedom, adventure and travel to see the world. This desire led to his planning his escape down to the last detail. Early one June morning in 1946, before sunrise, he left a note to his parents on the kitchen table and rode off on his Schwinn bike south to adventure. His journey into adulthood brought him many challenges including teen sex and romance, the problem of birth control, murder, incest, flight from the law, undercover work for the government, racism and eventually marriage. In thirty two chapters spanning two and a half months, Dan faces many problems and experiences that cause him to quickly grow to be an adult. In the process, he completely changed his life's goals.