There is so much about his best friend, Max, that is a mystery to Jeff. His fascination with guns. His hatred of Jews. His strange response when someone poisons the neighborhood dogs. He at times seems like a man to Jeff, and at other times is just a little boy. What is it about Max that makes Jeff want to be like him? And more important, what would Max think of him if he ever found out about Jeff's family? Based on a real event in his boyhood, Gerald Hausman's The Red Canoe tells the haunting story of boys trying to be men, only to discover the dangers of growing up too fast.