Colin meets Aileen on a country road on the day his father is buried. Left landless, he invites Aileen to come with him to America to find a place of their own. Aileen agrees and the two travel through the hard-knock culture of the Erie canal and over Lake Erie, under the eye of a stern Norse captain. They become part of a ragtag community in a squatter's camp in the borderlands between the Michigan Territory and Ohio. Where Colin is stoic and hardworking, Aileen is adventurous and whimsical, and the two grapple with their different temperaments and desires. Colin and Aileen's last trip takes them deep into Ohio's Great Black Swamp.At its heart, The Landless Year is a story about love and sacrifice––of land, family, and for strangers on the road. The Landless Year will appeal to readers who enjoy vividly evoked worlds, precise historical detail, and characters who are imperfect, but strive (even at their own peril) to do the best for those they love.