Ever since sixteen-year-old Gabe Strickland can remember, his father, Roman, has believed in the sale: that magical moment on the customer's porch, the deal about to close. But with each dizzying success comes an equally memorable failure, and Gabe's mother, Gladys, has grown tired of waiting for a life of financial stability. So in the summer of 1975 she leaves Roman and goes to live with his dependable brother Dutch. Confident he can win Gladys back, Roman pins all his hopes on a barnstorming tour of Southern carnivals, hawking tickets for "Death Cars of Celebrities." Gabe finds his own truth somewhere between Roman's quixotic dreaming and Gladys's newfound stability, and he learns that love is, ultimately, the one thing that can't be bought or sold. Reading group guide included.