Times have hardened, stilled with the passage of time. Survival means never letting your guard down emotionally. A group of hobos rides the rails in this alternative history. We never really left the depression; this has taken its toll on everyone. Jacob has a bloody past, and is haunted by stories/visions that force him to tell them aloud to whoever's listening. His solitary ways are confounded when William, a down-and-out schoolteacher, gets in the boxcar with him and his traveling mates. Jacob is forced to make decisions, and William reveals a magic to him that can only be created by real human connection, when the inanimate can come to life.