When big city cousin Parsifal comes to endure his summer vacation with his hick country cousins there could develop a dislike similar to the Hatfield's and McCoy's. But Love uses the usual hit-and-run tactics and Parsifal tumbles head over heels in love with the town's redheaded beauty. Gone are Parsifal's ambitions to become a great violinist, as he tries one show-off tactic after another to win Jessie Elder's love. The host Shearer family has troubles of its own, with the worst young delinquent Appleton has ever produced. Ten year old Willie Shearer, a dedicated demolition expert, is constantly angering his family. He widens his scope to include the town which suspects a gang of pirates has taken over. Moreover, the once-peaceful town has additional stress: a respectable man has developed a demanding thirst for all the bootlegged alcohol he can find to drink. His family won't stand for it so the town decides to step in, meddle with the drunk's life and affairs, and set him on the upright and narrow path to sobriety. (Well, they can TRY!) More culture shock strikes when Parsifal's parents arrive unexpectedly and see their once elegant son transformed into a scruffy, dirty scarecrow with a broken finger! Good Heavens! How can Parsifal play the violin? Does Willie's family resort to leg irons to control him? Or threaten to send him to the slave market? Can the town drunk consume all the available liquor before being cured? Or can the cure really cure him? Did Willie intend to blow up the kitchen while his mother hosted a formal afternoon tea? Why is the family's cat named Sam Spayed when he doesn't even qualify for the operation? What do the Night Travelers have to do with all this? These are hard questions. Maybe if you read the book.......