Publisher's Synopsis
Mountain people follow their own ways. Rankled by unchecked development of their beloved High Country, a group decides to file a protest mountain-style. Like Border revelers before them, they balance social injustice with larceny in their souls: they rob a railroad. Their railway of choice happens to be the central attraction of a popular, seasonal theme park near Blowing Rock, The Tootsie Rail Line. A Fourth of July hold-up begins as a serious jest, but quickly spins out of control. Law enforcement and the media respond to what they perceive as a threat to prosperity and to the rule of law.
The action plays out across the hills and communities of western North Carolina during one golden summer. Men and women of the High Country find themselves in conflict with local lawmen and, then, with larger forces, including the State Bureau of Investigation as well as organized crime. The telling moves through a wide range of felt responses: from genial humor at human missteps to sorrow from unintended consequence.
Robbing the Tootsie Rail Line, like a good roadside attraction, guarantees a good time for all.
