I am working my way through all of Daniel Woodrell's books and I enjoyed this one as much as the others. This tale is set in the Ozarks of Missouri, a depressed rural area. We meet the Merridew family. Mother Bev, who is an attractive blonde who works out of her trailer as a prostitute. Her two children, Jamalee and Jason live next door in a run down shack. Jamalee is dreaming, yearning of escape from these bleak environs. Jason is a gorgeous young man, a perfects specimen and Jamalee thinks he can be their ticket out of the Ozarks. The siblings meet a petty criminal and drifter named Sammy who is from Arkansas. Sammy thinks of Jamalee as "Tomato Red" because of the startling hue she dyed her hair. Sammy joins Jamalee and Jason in their hovel where they plot and plan their escape. There are several tragedies the occur that shatter the lives of these characters forever. The book did kind of end abruptly. I was hoping for more of an explanation. Nontheless, I still liked the book. I like reading about the lower echelon of society. Not to look down on the characters, but to experience and feel their realities.