The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Jiles, Paulette. Simon the Fiddler. Harper Collins, 2020.

When the novel begins, Simon is a solo fiddler, travelling from town to town in the hopes of avoiding the Confederate conscription men. He is caught one day, after getting arrested for a bar fight, and sent to Mexico. There, he meets three other musicians who later become his friends and travelling companions: Damon Lessing, Doroteo Navarro and a young boy named Patrick O’Hehir. Simon only fights in one battle before the Confederates surrender and the war ends. Simon and the other musicians are forced to perform at a party celebrating the end of the war. It is there that Simon first sees Doris Dillon. She is a governess to Colonel Webb’s daughter and is contractually bound to the family for three years. Simon serenades Doris with a tune from Ireland, her home country, making quite the impression on her. Doris leaves with the Webbs for San Antonio.

Simon and the others travel to Galveston to find work. In Galveston, they live in an abandoned shack. Simon visits a real-estate agent and becomes obsessed with a property in the Red River Valley owned by a man named Solomon Bradford. Simon vows to find this man somehow. In the meantime, Simon writes letters to Doris on Patrick’s behalf, under the pretense of conveying news from Ireland, where Patrick and Doris are both from. A steady correspondence develops between the two. One day, Patrick dies of yellow fever. The band pack up and leave for Houston. Simon and Doris continue sending each other letters, with each gradually conveying more intimacy.

In Houston, Simon, Damon, and Doroteo live on an abandoned flatboat. They struggle to find jobs as musicians but eventually get hired at a few places. A man named Rosillo shows up at the flatboat one day, hoping to hire the band for the wedding of the daughter of his employer: Solomon Bradford. Simon explains to his friends about the house and they agree to travel to an area called the Nueces Strip for the wedding. Simon manages to convince Solomon Bradford to sell him the property. Doroteo runs off with a woman he meets at the wedding, leaving Simon and Damon alone to travel to San Antonio.

In San Antonio, Damon and Simon find work as musicians at a hotel. The hotel owner forces them to accept an amateur percussionist named Lester Pruitt into their band. Lester has an attitude problem and is a poor drummer as well. One morning, Simon spots Doris at the market. She is thrilled to see him. Simon proposes to her immediately, but Doris prefers to wait until she earns enough money to have the option to go back to Ireland before making her choice. She arranges for her and Simon to perform at rich people’s houses. These performances bring them closer together and eventually Doris agrees to elope with Simon, as she loves him and is also extremely unhappy living with the Webbs. Colonel Webb makes her uncomfortable and she suspects he wants to sleep with her.

Simon and his band are invited to perform at the Colonel Webb’s house, where he is throwing a dance. Simon infuriates Colonel Webb by dancing with Doris in front of everyone. Pruitt annoys Simon with his general insolence and Simon fires him right after the dance. Soon after, Doris shows up to a bar Simon is playing at to warn him that Colonel Webb has a warrant for his arrest. He is being charged with conspiracy to abduct Doris. Pruitt is at the bar. He makes a disrespectful comment towards Doris, resulting in a violent fight with Simon. Pruitt pulls out a knife which Simon then uses to stab him to death.

Simon is put on trial for murder. He is found not guilty, with the argument that he was using self defense against Pruitt. He must spend a week in recovery for his wounds but otherwise will be fine. Simon is together with Doris, at last.