Connection at Newcombe

Newcombe is too small to qualify for a rail station. So begins a campaign against time and government to guarantee the survival of their community in post-war Northern Ontario.

It’s 1920. The Great War is over and the troops are on their way home to reclaim their old lives. But before he can return to his days as a lawyer, Major Callum Bannatyne has one more mission: to ensure The Canadian National Railway builds its newest expansion through his hometown of Newcombe.

The only problem? Newcombe’s population is too small for it to qualify for a station. And so begins a small town’s campaign against time and government to recruit their ringers and guarantee the survival of their community in post-war Northern Ontario.

But not everyone is on board with duping the government and Cal’s plan is undermined at every turn, whether due to the machinations of the local Reverend’s zealous son, or the bullying of belligerent furrier Randall Evershed. Even Fergus, Cal’s own father, who suffers with dementia, inadvertently jeopardizes the plan when he attacks one of Newcombe’s conspirators during one of his fogs.

But if living in the Canadian wilderness has taught the people of Newcombe anything, it’s how to be resourceful in the face of adversity.