La autopista Lincoln / The Lincoln Highway

It is June of 1954 when eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska, released from the Salina juvenile work farm after serving fifteen months for involuntary manslaughter. The warden, a man of duty, drops him at the threshold of what used to be his family farm, now foreclosed and desolate. Emmett's mother is long gone, his father recently deceased, leaving only his precocious eight-year-old brother, Billy, in the care of their kind neighbor, Sally Ransom. Emmett's plan is simple, born of necessity and a yearning for a clean slate: he will take Billy, load up his Studebaker, and head west along the Lincoln Highway to California, where they can build a new life, far from the shadows of their past.

But fate, a mischievous puppeteer, has already begun to tug at the strings of Emmett's carefully laid plans. No sooner has the warden's car disappeared than two figures emerge from the trunk of Emmett's Studebaker: Duchess and Woolly, two friends from the work farm who, with cunning and surprising determination, have stowed away. Duchess, ever the charismatic schemer with a grand pronouncements and a primitive sense of justice, quickly reveals a different agenda. He and the gentle, somewhat naive Woolly, heir to a considerable but currently inaccessible trust fund, have concocted a plan to travel in the opposite direction, eastward, to New York City. There, they believe, Woolly's inheritance awaits, and with it, a chance for Duchess to settle old scores and debts.

Suddenly, the westward journey to California, Billy's dream of finding their estranged mother based on a collection of old postcards, is hijacked. Emmett, burdened by his past and the weight of responsibility for Billy, finds himself drawn into Duchess's audacious orbit. The four boys, each with their own hopes, regrets, and definitions of freedom, embark on an odyssey that will span a mere ten days but feel like a lifetime. Their path, once clear, becomes a winding road of misadventure, forcing them to confront not only the vast American landscape but also the labyrinthine depths of their own characters.

As they navigate the unexpected twists and turns, their journey unfolds through a chorus of voices, shifting perspectives that reveal the rich inner lives of each character. Duchess, with his unwavering belief in the theatricality of life and his relentless pursuit of recompense, drives much of the initial chaos. Woolly, with his gentle spirit and often misplaced trust, offers a poignant counterpoint, his struggles with his "medicine" a quiet undercurrent to the unfolding drama. Emmett grapples with his pragmatic desire for a stable future for Billy against the impulsive, often dangerous, pull of his companions.

Along the way, they encounter a kaleidoscopic array of individuals: drifters riding the rails, vaudevillians, and the denizens of New York's upper crust. One such encounter brings Ulysses, a dignified Black veteran who has been riding the rails since his family left him, into their fold. He becomes an unexpected guardian and confidant, particularly for Billy, whose fascination with heroes and epic tales finds a resonance in Ulysses's own journey. Billy, with his unwavering optimism and a tattered book of heroes, becomes the moral compass, often seeing the best in people and reminding them of the power of stories and destiny.

The pursuit of Woolly's inheritance in New York proves to be as convoluted and perilous as Duchess had promised, leading to a series of escalating complications. Each character is forced to make choices that test their loyalties, challenge their perceptions of right and wrong, and push them towards a deeper understanding of themselves. Emmett must confront the long shadow of his own past mistakes, while Duchess seeks a strange kind of atonement, settling debts both owed to him and by him, sometimes with a brutal, self-sacrificing logic.

The journey becomes a crucible, forging and breaking bonds, revealing the intricate tapestry of human nature. Brotherhood, redemption, and the elusive American Dream are not abstract concepts but lived experiences, felt in every mile of the Lincoln Highway. The boys learn that the path to a new beginning is rarely straight, and sometimes, the most profound discoveries are made when one is forced to veer off course, into the unknown.