William Music went West to find work with an electric company, but has been blindsided by the Great Depression. Now, coming to peace with the fact that there is no work in the West to be had, he returns home from his travels, through the Appalachian states back home to Virginia. He travels by train as a hobo, stopping occasionally to scavenge for food. One day, he stops in Kentucky, in Switch County, where he meets a woman named Ella Bone.
Ella tells him that there is still work in the Kentucky coal mines. She introduces him to her son, Regus. Indeed, Regus says that they do need a new employee to help him with mine guarding. Their job these days has been to deflect unionizers who want to demand better work environments for the coal miners. Music accepts the job zealously, fighting off union Communists tooth and nail. He kicks union sympathizers out into the street with their families, and he enforces the non-union status quo by fear.
That only speeds up the union's agenda. Before long, the employees are tired of being controlled by fear tactics, and they agree to organize with the Communists. Music realizes that the next step is to threaten the mob with guns, but he and Regus arrive at a moment of clarity; they don't want to hurt anyone. They refuse to help break up the mob and instead live outside the developing Squatterstown. They bring supplies to the mob by night, until one night, a gunfight breaks out, and many people die.
