In 1960, when he was almost 60 years old, John Steinbeck set out to rediscover his native land. Accompanied only by a distinguished french poodle named Charley, he travelled across the United States in a three-quarter-ton pick-up truck equipped with a miniature ship's cabin and named Rocinante.
His course took him through almost forty states. He saw things that made him proud, angry, sympathetic and elated, which he examined with both love and critical accuracy.