Noticing that her father has spots on his skin that look just like his father's skin cancer, Billie Jo decides to leave before her father leaves her (she is afraid he will die of skin cancer). She jumps on a freight train and travels in a boxcar as far as Flagstaff, Arizona. Her intention is to get out of the Dust Bowl and never go back. On her journey, she realizes that she cannot get "out of the dust" because the dust is a part of her. She is able to feel compassion for her father, to understand his grief, and to forgive him and ultimately forgive herself. She returns home with a deeper understanding of her father and herself.
Billie Jo and her father redefine their relationship and once again become a family. Her father meets Louise, a teacher at the night school he attended, and she becomes a special person in his life. Billie Jo is able to accept Louise as part of their family and understands that spirit, hopes, and dreams can be rekindled with love.
