Demon explains the cutting and curing of tobacco: Tommy drops laths, workers spear plants on sticks, and later hang six-plant bundles high in barn rafters. The work is hazardous, spawning contests of speed and recklessness; Fast Forward is excellent, and Swap-Out is a standout spectacle at barn hanging.

With frost looming, October becomes an all-day push—stab, chop, lift, slam—until everything hurts. Farmers’ livelihoods hinge on getting the crop in. Creaky keeps the kids out of school to meet the deadline. Demon is sunburned and exhausted, feeling invisible to the world despite the grueling effort.

About a week into cutting, Demon develops a severe headache, buzzing ears, and nausea, then vomits. Tommy finds him and fetches Fast Forward. Fast Forward and Creaky carry Demon inside, force water until he keeps it down, and scold him to wear gloves. Demon learns he has green tobacco sickness—nicotine poisoning that hits kids hardest—while older smokers like Fast Forward can work bare-handed.

The narrative widens to why people persist: once, government price supports guaranteed markets; lawsuits and policy shifts ended that, pushing many toward foreclosure or expanded acreage. In the stripping house, tales have turned from entertainment to laments about where the world left small farmers, some now selling into distant markets like China.

Demon lays out the economics: corn or soy might net $700 an acre, while burley once brought $7,000, the only viable crop for thin mountain fields. Leaving the land feels like leaving a body. As cigarette ads vanish and outsiders condemn tobacco, locals keep smoking and display “Proud Tobacco Farmer” stickers, even as prices fall and taxes rise. Pride endures atop shrinking prospects.