The simple gift / Herrick, Steven

Weary of life with his alcoholic, abusive father, sixteen-year-old Billy packs a few belongings and hits the road, hoping for something better than what he left behind. He finds a home in an abandoned freight train outside a small town, where he falls in love with rich, restless Caitlin and befriends a fellow train resident, "old Bill," who slowly reveals a tragic past. When Billy is given a gift that changes everything, he learns not only how to forge his own path in life, but the real meaning of family.

Sixteen-year-old Billy runs away from his alcoholic, abusive father and takes up residence in an abandoned freight car where he meets Old Bill, a fellow hobo, and together they form a friendship based on small kindnesses that change their lives.