Bud Caldwell, a ten-year-old orphan residing in Michigan during the Great Depression, has lived the majority of his life in foster care and the orphanage. When his mother passed away when he was six, he was left only with a tiny suitcase holding her cherished items brochures of a jazz band led by a man named Herman E. Calloway, whom Bud suspects could be his father

Running Away From Trouble

At the beginning of the tale, Bud is assigned to the Amos family. Their son, Todd, harasses Bud and wrongly claims that Bud assaulted him. The Amoses confine Bud in a chilly, shadowy shed as a form of punishment. Within the shed, Bud becomes frantic as he confuses a hornet’s nest for a creature. After being stung and filled with fear, he crashes through a window and flees. Angry at the Amoses for their mistreatment, Bud slips back into the house that night to take his suitcase and seek revenge—ultimately, he opts for a light prank instead of causing harm to anyone.

Now liberated, Bud chooses not to go back to the orphanage. Rather, he embarks on a personal quest: locate the man he believes to be his father—Herman E. Calloway, the musician featured on his mother’s flyers

A Friend on the Road

As he roams alone through the town of Flint, Bud encounters another homeless boy called Bugs, an old friend from the orphanage. Bugs asks Bud to catch a freight train with a bunch of itinerant laborers. Bud consents, and the boys rush to the train yard, but amid the train’s chaos, Bugs skillfully jumps on while Bud remains behind. Now genuinely on his own once more, Bud resolves to take the long trek to Grand Rapids, believing that Herman E. Calloway resides there

Meeting Lefty Lewis

On the road, hungry and exhausted, Bud is found by a kind man named Lefty Lewis. Though suspicious at first—Bud has learned not to trust strangers too quickly—he eventually accepts the man’s help. Lefty gives him food, drives him to Grand Rapids, and gently jokes with him, becoming one of the first adults in the book to treat Bud with genuine kindness. Bud continues his journey with a mix of hope and fear, clutching his suitcase and his mother’s memories.

Finding Herman E. Calloway

Once in Grand Rapids, Bud finds the band’s performance spot, “The Log Cabin,” and finally stands face-to-face with Herman E. Calloway. But instead of the emotional reunion Bud imagined, the old man angrily denies having any connection to Bud or his mother. The other band members—especially the warm-hearted Miss Thomas and the playful musicians—feel compassion for Bud and take him in until they figure out the truth.

Bud becomes a sort of honorary member of the band, helping with equipment, eating with them, and slowly feeling safe for the first time in a long while. Meanwhile, Herman E. Calloway remains cold and distant, refusing to believe Bud’s claims.

The Truth About His Mother

The truth surfaces when Bud sees a wall of carefully kept rocks with dates and places carved on them—rocks exactly like the ones in his suitcase. Bud shows Calloway the identical stones his mother kept, and the old man suddenly breaks down. It is revealed that Herman E. Calloway is not Bud’s father, but his grandfather. Bud’s mother had run away from home many years before, and Calloway spent decades grieving and looking for her. The pain of her loss made him emotionally hard, which Bud had mistaken for anger toward him.

When Calloway realizes Bud is his daughter’s child, he cries openly for the first time in the novel. The band surrounds Bud with warmth, welcoming him into their family.

A New Home

By the end of the story, Bud—who has always been on the run—finally finds a home. He gets a room in Calloway’s house, inherits his mother’s musical legacy, and even begins learning to play the saxophone with the band. For the first time, Bud is no longer just surviving—he is rooted, loved, and part of a family that values him.