The book’s protagonist, 21-year-old Joe, is a motivated young man attending college at the University of Minnesota. He strives to get ahead in life and leave his lower-class upbringing—as well as his emotionally and physically abusive mother, Kathy—behind. His desire to escape Kathy’s clutches is hampered by the fact that she cares for his autistic brother, Jeremy, giving him the freedom he needs to pursue an education.

At the start of the narrative, Joe feels burdened by his family and his lower-class upbringing. He describes how the odds seemed stacked against him because of his family ties: “My high-school guidance counselor never mentioned the word ‘college’ in any of our meetings. Maybe she could smell the funk of hopelessness that clung to my second-hand clothing [or] maybe she knew who my mother was and figured that no one can change the sound of an echo” (7). By the end of the narrative, Joe has come to reformulate his viewpoint on the “burden” of familial obligation. He takes on the job of caring for Jeremy even though it means he will no longer study at college.

Joe’s character development speaks to his recognition of the book’s central theme, the impossibility of attempting to bury one's past.