In rural Arkansas, seven-year-old farm boy Luke Chandler lives in the cotton fields with his parents and grandparents. When the cotton is ready to be harvested, the Chandlers hire a group of Mexicans and a family from the Ozarks to help harvest it. For six weeks the group pick cotton, battling the heat, rain, fatigue, and sometimes each other. During this time, Luke sees and hears things no seven-year-old should witness. Can he keep the secrets that could threaten his family's business and change their lives forever? A Painted House is a moving story of one boy's journey from innocence to experience, drawn from the personal experience of legendary legal thriller author John Grisham.