Thirsty for payback after the cuddle of Dora Mae Dreifuss, one of the chooch dancers, Samson and the rest of the carnies, including Stumpy Dreifuss and Rita Sue, get caught up in an obscure, but fascinating phenomenon called 'Carnival Justice' to root out the person responsible. Meanwhile, Ben's dark adventure in the mine shaft ends where Lodz welcomes him back into the fold. In Mintern, Brother Justin, highly distraught over the mysterious fire that destroyed Chin's andhuged six homeless children, leaves the town and wanders in the wilderness, where he meets a group of hobos around a camp fire where one of them is an undercover reporter.
Set in the 1930s Dust Bowl, 18-year old Ben Hawkins finds himself all alone in this world when his mother passes on. But a travelling Carnivandagrave;le takes him in. We also see the story of Brother Justin, a priest who is trying to find his way in the world. Little do Ben and Justin know, but they are to fight in a biblical battle. With help on the side (Ben with the carnie folk (Sofie, Libby, Apollonia, Ruthie, Samson, Lila, Lodz, Management) and Justin with his sister, Iris) they find out which side each are on and try to battle with the other for what they believe.