Smith Henderson's award-winning 'Fourth of July Creek' dives into the heart of the American psyche, presenting a stirring narrative set against the vast Montana wilderness. Social worker Pete Snow engages in a haunting encounter with a nearly wild boy and his deeply troubled father, thrusting him into a web of survivalist paranoia. As Pete navigates this precarious relationship, his own life unravels, intertwining with a federal manhunt that propels all characters towards an inescapable climax. This novel is an exploration of the precarious balance between anarchy and grace, and the contradictions that define the nation.