At seventeen, Dave goes to a mining camp to make money to help pay off his parents' bills. The story is told in letters he sends to his mother. Dave initially enjoys life at the camp, and he makes friends and develops a crush on a girl there. However, his friends keep pressuring him to drink and gamble, and Dave loses all his money while gambling and has nothing to give to his parents. His attempts to win his money back just lead him to lose more money and develop a pattern of drunkenness, and he eventually discovers his new friends were scamming him. Eventually, Dave meets his cousin, Jim, who helps Dave get over his bad habits, go to church and activities, and find work. Dave marries the girl he met at camp, and he vows to set a good example for his new son. He knows that God planned the happiness he found.