One night, a boy’s father takes him to a fenced-in plot of land which the boy is generally forbidden to enter and hoists him onto the roof of a shed to peer at the nearby Methodist church, near where a man named Flagpole Moody is sitting on the flagpole. The boy’s father explains that Flagpole Moody has said he intends to sit on the flagpole for as long as possible, and the boy becomes afraid. During a later night, the KKK lights an old man aflame in the plaza, and the boy and his family go to watch and see Flagpole Moody waving from the roof.  Since Flagpole Moody has been on the flagpole for eighteen days, the town questions what he is doing and becomes disturbed by his presence. Someone suggests that the KKK should bring him down, and merchants try to convince him to advertise their products while he is there. Even so, Flagpole Moody speaks to no one and does not answer questions. The police eventually reveal Flagpole Moody to be Marcus Peters, a past president of the Lions Club and a practical joker. Still, Flagpole Moody refuses to get down and stops waving at people for a while. When the town hosts a small carnival, however, he begins to do acrobatic tricks from the roof, despite not having eaten.  One night, however, a young man named Maury decides to shoot a gun at Flagpole Moody, causing him to retreat into a tent on the roof. Even so, the boy dreams that he is chosen to speak to Flagpole Moody, but when he enters the tent, he sees that Flagpole Moody is gone. In the dream, the boy replaces Flagpole Moody. In real life, Flagpole Moody finally tells the town that he wants to come down after forty days.