During the Great Depression, Sol Gann (Ray Wise) has to quickly decide if he will take on a logging job in another state and leave his daughter Natty (Meredith Salenger), or try to find work in Chicago, where he lives with her. Times are desperate, and people are living on the streets and are begging for work. Sol ends up going to Washington state. Connie (Lainie Kazan), who runs a boarding house, takes Natty in, but Natty decides to travel across the U. S. to rejoin her dad. She gets on a train at one point and receives help from Harry (John Cusack). She also tames a wolf. Natty must try to survive a journey of 2,000 miles.