In The Reivers, Lucius Priest tells his grandson the story of how he became a man. In 1905, when he was eleven, he was willingly carried off on an escapade from their home in Jefferson to Memphis by Boon Hogganbeck and a Negro, Ned McCaslin, both employees at his family's livery stable.

Boon plans to visit his girl friend, Corrie Everbe, a prostitute at Miss Reba's brothel; he takes Lucius along as a way of justifying his borrowing Lucius's grandfather's car. Soon after their arrival Ned, who accompanies them as a stowaway, trades the car for a "borrowed" race horse as part of a complex plot to extricate a relative from gambling debts. The complications proceed comically, ending with a horse race. By then, Lucius's parents and grandparents have discovered the reivers' whereabouts, and Lucius must face his punishment.

Lucius learns much about the darker side of...