in his attempts to secure the future of the railway system. The opening of the book introduces us to Ford and his team battling snow drifts on Plug Mountain as they struggle to restore service to a mining camp isolated by winter conditions. We witness Ford's leadership style, which earns him the respect and loyalty of his workers, as well as his frustrations with the insufficient resources provided by the company. Stuck between a treacherous weather battle and a distressed railway system, the narrative sets the stage for Ford's ambitious plans to not only survive the present crisis but to find a way to turn the struggling branch into a viable asset for the company, foreshadowing the strategic and financial struggles that will come as he pursues this goal. (This is an automatically generated summary.)