Where You Goin' Girlie?

As the Great American Depression of the 1930's finally ends on the brink of World War II, Katie finds herself on the verge of womanhood. Ironically most of her male peers in this small Oklahoma oil town she calls "Deliria" are drafted into the military. As the vast deprovincialization of the country takes place in the sudden need for factory workers and the military, Katie puts her dreams of adventure on hold, takes on her first lover, keeps the most sophisticated company she can find among the local women, including Nina, a rich former leftist, and nurtures her dream of escape. She helps Refro, the very spirit of the Depression, who has been riding the rails for a decade, return to his family. She pays for her keep at home with her beloved eccentric mother, a devoted black helper, an alcoholic aunt and her cousin Beasley. Rites of passage essential to maturity, urbanization and historical crisis characterize these lives. Katie, quintessential middle American girl of her era, will have her day. Meantime, middle America endures the invasions of contemporary history as it prepares, through Katie, to break out of its cocoon.