In the autumn of 1872, a group of strangers board the newly finished Transcontinental Railroad chasing fortune, freedom, and redemption. John, a young man from Massachusetts, begins his pilgrimage for a reason he is unwilling to share. Alone at first, he quickly recruits several strangers to join him to fulfill their dreams as well. Together they cross the heart of America facing dangers, choices, and truths that will change their lives forever. The Weight of the Golden Spike is a sweeping historical novel exploring guilt, grace, and the forging of an unlikely brotherhood on the rails that bound a nation together.