In 1988 Ellie Webster finds a neglected family heirloom-a series of letters documenting an ancestor's migration in 1818 from New Hampshire to the shores of Lake Erie in northeastern Ohio. Ellie persuades her sometime boyfriend Axel to accompany her on a bicycle trip to retrace the route and gather material for a college history honors project. Crombie Hill is the story of that adventure and a reprise 30 years later, with evolving personal relationships set against well traveled landscapes and the peculiarities of American history and culture.