The Dust Bowl didn’t end in the 30s. At least, not in Yoakum, Texas. The sky is gray with dust and smoke. It rumbles with thunder. Aaron and his mother, Wynona, arrive at his grandfather’s farm as a group of Mexican migrants rush into his barn. Aaron’s grandfather was a Texas Ranger and an alcoholic with a penchant for cards and outlaw women. But that was all in the past. Aaron’s mother was one of many children fathered by Aaron’s grandfather. He didn’t know many of them. Aaron’s mother spent time in a mental asylum. Now, she is somewhat improved, but she must leave the room whenever anyone mentions “abortion.”

Grandfather and Aaron feed the group in the barn. Among them are men, women, and children – the youngest, Maria’s baby, is frighteningly thin.

A man parks his Model T Ford in the driveway. Mr. Watts steps out, thin as a lizard, in a black suit and a Stetson hat. He says he’s been sent by federal authorities to investigate Japanese border crossings from into Mexico, and he wants to look in Grandfather’s barn. Grandfather finds this absurd and refuses. Mr. Watts, leaving, winks and says, “Tell your daughter hello for me.”

Later, Wynona takes Aaron to the grocery store to get some milk. She sends Aaron into the package store next door to get a soda, while she gets groceries. In the store, Aaron runs into Mr. Watts. He puts his hand on Aaron’s head in a fatherly manner. When Aaron gets back in the car and tells his mother, she is furious and grabs a leather quirt. She gets out of the car and slashes it against Mr. Watt’s face, wailing on him until two men come and constrain her.

A man was supposed to come from Victoria to pick up the Mexicans and give them jobs. But he never came. He says he wants to help the war effort by not hiring them. Grandfather is furious. Before, the Mexicans had been betrayed by an illegal contractor who was supposed to take them to San Antonio but left them at the border. Grandfather tells Aaron he worries for Wynona. He says she blames herself for everything he did. Meanwhile, another Japanese island has fallen to the Americans.

When Grandfather hears about Wynona beating Mr. Watts, he is furious. He packs Aaron and his mother into the car (for safety) and drives into town to the bar. There, he finds Mr. Watts. He tells him to apologize to Wynona for what he did. Mr. Watts says there’s no need to fight, “We’re all white men here.” Grandfather pushes harder. Mr. Watts says he has nothing to apologize for. Whatever happened to Wynona, he says, Grandfather did in one of his drunken blackouts. Grandfather returns home with the family, grabs an unlabeled bottle, and closes himself in his room. Aaron’s mom steps out to run errands.

The next day an officer shows up at the front door. He needs to look at Grandfather’s pistol, which hasn’t been used in weeks. Someone shot Mr. Watts last night – once in the head and once in the penis.