It’s the summer of 1919, and Alice Greenough, a teenage spitfire from Red Lodge, Montana, is on her way to her first rodeo competition in Forsyth, traveling via steam locomotive. Alice will need the "iron will” she’s known for, as this train ride proves to be every bit as exciting and challenging as sticking to the 1,200 pounds of buckin’, snortin’, kickin’ muscle that’s waiting for her on the other side of the state.
Based on the real life rodeo star, Alice has a smile just like her hat—big and wide. She can’t help but talk to all the strangers she meets on the train, some of whom are famous Montanans from history, including ruthless copper king William Clark, Congresswoman and dedicated suffragist Jeanette Rankin, and yarn-spinning artist Charley Russell. Others are not so historically accurate, such as a pair of talking eagles and a mysterious lady who knows more about Alice than she knows herself. As Alice rides across Montana, a Helena ranch hand with movie-star looks turns her head, but it might be a scruffy powder monkey from the Butte copper mines who steals her heart. Before she reaches her destination, Alice’s mind will be opened to a bigger world than she ever imagined.
Hear the whistle blowing? Hurry up now and climb aboard—the train’s about to leave the station!