While the background and context of the book is the current crisis in the American automobile industry, the focus is on Kokomo, home to three generations of autoworkers. This is the story of the union leaders, the salaried plant managers, the elected local officials as well as ordinary citizens of the town. In telling their story, the authors succinctly explain how the Detroit autombobile industry stumbled and how this affected millions of people in the US, Canada and Mexico. The populist narrative is ultimately an exhortation to save the stumbling industry.