During World War II, T.J., his three sisters, and their parents move north to the big city from their farm in Alabama. He has little trouble making friends. One day, a boy in his new building takes him up to the roof of the factory next door to meet his gang. His lamentations of the lack of fields and trees confuse the others, but they take a liking to him all the same. Suddenly, T.J. has an idea. Why, he asks, not make a field on the roof? They joke at first, but as he woos them with plans and possibilities, more and more of the boys become interested. Over the winter, they lug bags of earth, scavenged from around the city, up to the roof, fueled almost solely by the strength of T.J.'s passion. At the beginning of spring, they plant some stolen grass seed and, when it sprouts, come up to the roof every day to marvel at it. T.J. even makes plans to buy some watermelon seeds for the rest of the plot, but just as they agree to do so, disaster strikes. Three men in suits confront them — they own the factory, and they want the dirt gone. After they leave, T.J. flies into a rage, yelling that they won't take his land and shoveling it all over the parapet. Two weeks later, the Nashville police catch up with him hundreds of miles away. He wants to go home.