When seventeen-year-old Jude sees his coach's handwritten note on the bulletin board offering two free tickets to the Rose Bowl, he thinks his small-town life as a preacher's kid is suddenly about to change for the better. Rather than being buried in the bleak Minnesota winter, he and a friend could be on their way to sunny California. But as Jude and his friend Stick set out to hitchhike Route 66, they soon realize they've embarked on more than a road trip. As the teens encounter a series of trials that test their fortitude and challenge their beliefs, they are forced to evaluate what really matters and whether freedom is possible. A story of friendship and discovery written in the vein of The Catcher in the Rye, David Beck's novel addresses the larger questions of life through the fresh and fervent eyes of youthful angst.