Plot summary

During the Great Depression, Bertha Thompson begins riding the rails and has a series of adventures, some lighthearted and others deadly serious. She gets involved with a less than honest gambler, Rake Brown, having to shoot her way out of a game when Rake is caught cheating. She also has a stint working in a bordello. She regularly crosses paths with union organizer Big Bill Shelley who is out to get a fair shake, by legal means or otherwise, for railway workers. They become lovers and take to robbing the payroll and when necessary, Bertha even breaks him out of jail. The railroad has its own enforcers however and Bill doesn't meet a just end however.—garykmcd