Content Warning: The source material contains themes of war, violence, and sexual assault.

The novel opens in Texas in October 1864. The protagonist, Simon, is a young man who can—and does—pass for 15 if not examined too closely. He uses this guise to escape conscription into the Confederate Army, but during a fiddle performance at a party in Texas, conscription men show up and try to take Simon to serve in the army. Simon threatens violence, but the plantation owner takes Simon and hides him in the icehouse instead. He buries himself in the sawdust and ice until it is safe to come out and successfully escapes conscription for another day.

Simon continues to wander East Texas and play his fiddle, earning money and saving as much as he can and attempting to not let his fierce temper get the better of him. He is not an especially gifted fiddle player but has a seemingly endless supply of songs to play, making him a great performer. In March 1865, however, he plays in a public house and gets into a fight after a drunk man tries to take and play his fiddle. Unable to escape the bar in time, the conscription men take Simon to play in a regimental band, ignoring his cries about his age.