The book tells about Alton being born and growing up in the South to a family of eight in a two-bedroom house. It also tells of how his family & he survived as sharecroppers; eating & living off what the land produced. It tells how at an early age, music, (singing & playing the guitar) became his life. For that reason, he left the South for the North; with the hope of finding a better life, mainly a recording contract for his singing; and yes, that special girl he had always dreamed about. He didn't get the contract, but while in pursuit, he met the girl of his dream, and 40 years later, she is still his "Place in the Sun."