Jack London is a great writer. He's a great storyteller, a great drawer of characters, an artist with natural descriptions, and able to bring any adventure to life by drawing on his own wildly varied experience, in addition to his talent. Billy and Saxon are the main characters who are newly married and who struggle to keep afloat in rough times. Billy is a teamster and is also a popular amateur boxer when Saxon meets him, but he explains he has given it up because of the low life crowds who come to see the fights-they want a blood bath and not a sport. Saxon works in a laundry and is ready to quit her job as soon as they marry, and she does. Billy ends up in prison and Saxon does everything she can to stay alive. Halfway through the book, just before Billy is released from prison, she comes to realize that they do not have to stay in Oakland, but they can start an adventure and leave. "Oakland's just a place to start from."