Set in early 20th-century Mississippi, The Reivers follows eleven-year-old Lucius Priest as he embarks on what begins as an innocent adventure but quickly becomes a journey into the complexities of adulthood. When Lucius is taken along by the family’s Black servant, Ned McCaslin, and a roguish hired hand, Boon Hogganbeck, on a trip to Memphis in a borrowed automobile, the outing turns into a series of unexpected escapades.

In Memphis, Lucius is exposed to a world far removed from his sheltered upbringing—one filled with gambling, deception, and moral ambiguity. As plans go awry and the consequences of their actions begin to unfold, he is forced to confront questions of right and wrong, responsibility, and personal integrity. The adults around him, each flawed in their own way, become both cautionary figures and reluctant guides.

Told with warmth, humor, and reflection, The Reivers is a coming-of-age story about innocence tested by experience. Through Lucius’s eyes, Faulkner explores honor, growth, and the lessons learned when childhood gives way to a more complicated understanding of the world.