old, the youngest brother of Percy, Merlin, and Opal Fairing, has been pulled in by his siblings. The trouble is, Barney doesn’t have a heart for crime. He cleans the weapons: the Thompson submachine guns, the pistols, and shotguns that are the tools of their trade, while the gang hides out in a secluded cabin on the Niangua River between bank jobs.

Across the river, up the hill, an impetuous student spies on the cabin. Redheaded giant, Wesley Hartung thinks he could make a name for himself in Social Anthropology by studying the Fairings. Wes’ plan is shot to hell when young Barney steps out the back door, strips off his clothes, and wades out into the river, crossing over to the opposite bank. When the boy leans against a tree and takes a hand to himself, the college kid all but comes unglued. Maybe he can work an interview into his study…

Sexy, earthy, and romantic, “Beulah’s Boy, Barney” is often funny, sometimes tragic, and always entertaining in its frank, but tender depiction of the evolving friendship between two randy boys and how their relationship affects their families.