Charlie Nebraska lives with his mom in a small town in Iowa after his dad dies in the Korean War. Charlie meets a new face in town, Luther, who happens to be the only black man in their town. Luther sees Charlie practicing for baseball tryouts and gives him some pointers. After getting to talk to Luther, Charlie learns that Luther was on a team on the Negro League, but had to leave Tennessee after an incident that occurred while he played ball. Charlie learns the true feelings of people in his town toward African Americans. ( )