Set in Kansas in the 1930s, this is the gripping story of a professional gambler, Des Tannehill, and his family. The father, a complex and magnetic man, is portrayed from the perspective of his willful and proud daughter Robin.

A rich character study of the classic American individualist, The Lost Traveler also presents a picture, rare in American literature, of a brave, self-reliant young woman. Against the dark background of Tannehill's declining fortunes stand Robin's high spirits and intelligence as she experiences the turbulent emotions of first sexual love and rebels against the circumstances of the gambler's rambling life.

The novel's depiction of Depression-era America and its lost families is one that will haunt readers long after the final page.