The young boy Huck Finn, escaping a violent alcoholic father, and his friend, Nigger Jim, escaping slavery, team up and ride a raft down the Mississippi River.  Their adventures with a steamboat, scoundrels who take advantage of them and some cases of mistaken identity make for a thrilling and suspenseful tale, and offer Mark Twain an opportunity to show both the humorous and dark sides of American society of the late 1800's.This book is considered by many one of the contenders for the title of The Great American Novel.