Prohibition may be the law of the land but, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, twelve-year-old Tom Higgins is learning the family business-the fine art of making whiskey.Tom, is proud to be a moonshiner's son and is happy to help his father continue the long-held family tradition even if that means outsmarting the law. But when a preacher and his family invade their hills to fight the "evils of alcohol, " the battle takes a new turn. Tom is outraged to find the preacher's pretty daughter throwing salt in his father's mash, but he's soon discovering a lot to like about her .. including some of her arguments for findinq a better way of life.