Francis Phelan, ex-ballplayer, part-time gravedigger, full-time drunk, has hit bottom. Years ago he left Albany in a hurry after killing a scab during a trolley workers' strike. He ran away again after accidentally -- and fatally -- dropping his infant son.

Now, in 1938, Francis is back in town, roaming the old familiar streets with his hobo pal, Helen, trying to make peace with the ghosts of the past and the present.

"A powerfully affecting work, abounding in humor and heartbreak." (Chicago Tribune Bookworld)

IRONWEED is last in the Albany Trilogy, preceeded by LEGS and BILLY PHELAN'S GREATEST GAME.