If Gloria Mae Willard had her way, she’d give the bank man a piece of her mind. She’d scream and yell and fight until he left the farm alone and gave them a little more time.
But Gloria doesn’t usually get her way. That means that she and her family are all packed in a truck headed to California, desperate to escape the Dust Bowl and find work while the Great Depression rages.
Of course, the bank man got a rock through the window of his truck as a goodbye present first.
The family finds jobs at the Santa Ana Holdsten Peach Orchard. The pay is terrible and the conditions are horrible. Anyone who eats the product will be punished, and anyone who tries to organize a union will face the wrath of the owners and police alike.
In all of this hardship, Gloria finds a bright spot: The boys at the orchard have a baseball team. The boys back in Balko, Oklahoma never let her play, no matter how much she begged. But this team might be different. The peach orchard team has played the apricot orchard team every Sunday for weeks and never won. Gloria realizes that they just might be desperate enough to let a girl on their team—if she can pitch well enough to ensure victory.
As the team’s leader and pitcher, Terrance wants no part of a girl on the team, especially one taking his position. But when the front gate is locked tight because of the union threat, leaving the team no way to reach the field, Gloria presents them with a choice. Either they let her on the team in exchange for information on how to get out of the orchard, or they lose their last chance to beat the apricot team.