When Michael and his grandmother board a train for his first train ride, the conductor directs them to the "colored only" section. But when the train pulls out of Atlanta, the signs come down, and a boy from the "whites only" section runs up to Michael, inviting him to explore. How come Michael can go as he pleases in some states, but has to sit in segregated sections in others? Based on author Michael S. Bandy's own recollections of taking the train as a boy during the segregation era, this story of a child's magical first train trip is intercut with a sense of baffling injustice, offering both a hopeful tale of friendship and a window into a dark period of history.