It begins in disaster.

Allen and Helen are having a quiet conversation near the railroad crossing when the train suddenly jumps the tracks. The couple quickly spring to the aid of the many injured passengers.

Helen rescues a baby from the arms of its dead mother. Allen helps an elderly man with mysterious ties to Allen’s own family. It is from this man that Allen and Helen will begin receiving an education in everything from evolutionary theory to the possibility of a worker’s utopia.

In the story that follows, Allen and Helen face challenges even more disastrous than the fiery wreck. Even as the town is struggling to get back on its feet after the accident, the worries of the Great Depression loom over them. As Allen and Helen struggle to adjust to this new way of life, another major catastrophe hits. It has disastrous consequences for them both. The couple will have to rely on the lessons they have learned to find the new way forward.

Life’s Tangled Trail was written by Nathan J. Bullock in the early 1930s. It has been edited and shared with the world due to the efforts of his grandson Marvin C. Crowther.