The story covers Reverend John G. Zahner and Reverend Moritz Noll of the German Reformed Church in Ohio and traces the life of William F. Albrecht, who goes from being a butcher to a major land trader and house builder in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Author David Noll focuses most of this telling on his grandfather, Gus Noll, who helps start the airline that eventually becomes TWA.
Multiple families who are offspring of Gus Noll still reside in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona; in addition to Las Cruces, New Mexico; the Seattle area in Washington; North Carolina; New Jersey; Montana; and other states.