Billie Jo is an only child, her mother is pregnant, her family is poor, and the crops won't grow. It's the Depression and dust covers and fills everything. Billie Joe finds joy and solace in her piano playing, but even that fails when unthinkable tragedy strikes her family. Out of the Dust is written as a poetic journal and vividly brings the Dustbowl years to life. Setting: 1930s, Oklahoma Dustbowl