A boy is sent across the river to spend the summer with his extended family.At first, it feels ordinary: farm work, long days, crowded kitchens, local markets, and the constant presence of machines and land that demand attention. The family operates by rules that are never explained. Strength is expected. Control is assumed. Certain instincts are treated as natural, even necessary.The boy begins to change-not through lessons or speeches, but through exposure. His senses sharpen. His reactions come faster. He starts to understand that what feels new to him is familiar to them.When that ordinary summer is threatened, the truth becomes unavoidable: what runs in his family isn't tradition or pride, but obligation. Once it's called on, it doesn't ask permission.The Draft is a coming-of-age novel about lineage, inevitability, and the moment a child learns that who he is will decide what he's meant to do.