In returning to the rails - the river of steel - fifteen years after a childhood trauma that haunts him, young Lynden Hoover gets help from The Duke, an old hobo who calls America’s landscape his home and adheres to a time- honored code.  Bonds are formed, and secrets exposed as The Duke flees Short Arm, his relentless and brutal nemesis.   The Duke mentors Lynden on life on the tracks, using the vibrant language of the boxcar life gleaned from years riding across great swaths of country. With the help of the trusted “knights of the road”, Lynden and The Duke head to a harrowing climax with Short Arm where generations collide, and lives hang in the balance.