They are an unlikely pair: George is “small and quick and dark of face”; Lennie， a man of tremendous size， has the mind of a young child。 Yet they have formed a “family，” clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation。

Laborers in California’s dusty vegetable fields， they hustle work when they can， living a hand-to-mouth existence。 For George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own。 When they land jobs on a ranch in the Salinas Valley， the fulfillment of their dream seems to be within their grasp。 But even George cannot guard Lennie from the provocations of a flirtatious woman， nor predict the consequences of Lennie’s unswerving obedience to the things George taught him。