With chain stores and supermarkets taking over control of the whole country, the existence of Gilbert’s family
ranch is threatened. Gilbert is cornered into an economic “quagmire”, and all his attempts to make profits against
the globalization trend fail. At first he plans to butcher and pack beefs to dealers, but finds out that the local
stores “preferred to stay with the chain suppliers” (64). And his idea of raising and selling turkeys is beaten by
“the plastic-wrapped, prebasted Safe-way turkeys with breasts like Las Vegas strippers,” too (64). As a result,
55-year-old Gilbert is “caught in the downward spiral of too much work, not enough money, drought” (67).
Meanwhile, he is also besieged and pestered by suitcase ranchers, biologists, hunters, and environmentalists with
their offering to buy his ranch, or accusations that he has ruined the pastures with his traditional way of ranching.