Thirteen-year-old Billy Knight leaves home to 'ride the rails' across Canada during the 1930s. His encounters with a wide cast of characters — including fellow drifters and grifters, kid gangs, crooks, idealists, ragtag philosophers, and railroad bulls, as well as everyday folk simply trying to get by — provide much more than he bargained for. And for the first time, he realizes that riding the rails is not just an adventure. It also speaks to the bravery of those drifting like tumbleweed across the country and seeking a better life. And just like the railway on which Billy travels, the narrative surges unstoppably forward, offering up an adventure both life-changing and unforgettable.

Christine Welldon is the author of several books including The Children of Africville; Children of the Titanic; Canadian Pacific Railway: Pon Git Cheng and Pier 21: Listen to My Story. Her work has appeared in the Globe and Mail, The Fiddlehead, Canadian Business and Omni magazines. Her most recent book Reporter in Disguise: The Intrepid Vic Steinberg is on the Honours list for the American Library Association Amelia Bloomer Award for excellence in feminist children's literature, and short-listed for the Children's Choice Hackmatack Award, 2015. Her newest book, Lifelines: The Lanier Phillips Story will be released in the fall of 2014 by Breakwater Books.

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