Two boys with very different lives, Perry and Steve are connected by the path of a train although they never really get to know each other. Perry rides the B&O railroad line twice a week since he alternates living with his grandmother and his mother. He feels disconnected from all that is familiar since his father is missing in Vietnam, his sister has disappeared into the war protest movement, and his mother is in nursing school. He writes letters to his sister, Annie, in an attempt to reconnect. He notices a boy, Steve, racing against the train, and imagines that Steve has the life he wishes he had. Steve, in turn, imagines taking the train and leaving his strict family and farm work behind. He has a vivid imagination and pretends that he is the train conductor, and the cows are dining cars. When the cows decide to cross the track one day, the train is forces to halt while Steve and his dog Nipper corral them once again. The poet explains his writing process in making sure the two boys' voices are unique in an afterword. 
 I liked the idea behind this book with both boys yearning for other lives and other pastures, in a sense. The premise reminds me of the old adage that the grass is always greener on the other side. But I didn't feel as strong a connection with Steve as I did with Perry, and in some respects I didn't feel as though I knew either boy very well. Their encounter is so brief that I have to wonder if they wouldn't have come to the same conclusions about their own lots without it occurring.