The 1930s: As the Great Depression deepens and her family disintegrates, Maddy Skobel flees her central Ohio town-by freight train-determined to make her own way. Learning to survive as a hobo while facing hardship, danger, and violence, Maddy must discover her own resourcefulness and strengths. Through Maddy's eyes, Line by Line explores larger themes that especially resonate today: coming of age in times of economic devastation, trust in our government, and the life-shaping influence of family-both the family that we are born into and the family we create as we surround ourselves with those who matter most.