About the title
This is a story about two 14-year-old boys, Ellis and Neckbone, who happen to meet, during one of their outings, a man hiding on an island in the middle of the Mississippi. His name is Mud: a missing tooth, a snake tattoo on his arm, a gun, and a "lucky" shirt. Mud also believes in love — exactly what Ellis needs to forget the tense atmosphere at home. Soon the boys begin helping him fix the boat on which Mud plans to leave the island. However, the boys can't tell what's true and what's a lie in Mud's story. Did he really kill a man, and is he now being hunted by the law and bounty hunters? And who is the mysterious girl who has arrived in their small Arkansas town?