 When John Boy meets a writer passing through Walton s Mountain, he impulsively asks him to come home to meet his family. Staying a few days and helping in the mill for his room and board, the writer fills John Boy s head with tales of travels and stories about famous authors he has known. When John Boy s interest in these tales causes him to shirk his duties at the mill, he begins to question whether he should abandon his own writing aspirations and concentrate on his duty to his family.