Rule #1 of the Underground Railroad: If someone doesn’t need to know something, don’t tell them.

Rian Krieger is an 11-year-old girl living in a time and place of great change, Philadelphia, 1835. Kicked out of three schools for fighting, the tomboy Rian is brought into her father Otto's carraige-making business, Around Rian, the city is a hotbed of industrialization, and the winds of change are at times violent. Established whites, German artisans, Irish immigrants and free Blacks are in a struggle with one another and themselves.

The anti-slavery movement is just beginning, and Rian makes friends with those on the cusp of the abolitionist movement, such as Lucretia Mott. Befriending Olivia Tucker, a slave owner's daughter, the two seek to rescue a house servant from slavery.

Rian's living of history is penned by Roger Smith, and is the first of series. A high school history teacher, farmer, woodworker, businessman and science museum founder, Smith spent 41 years of his life in Central Pennsylvania and drew on his many experiences to create Rian and bring what aims to be a long and exciting series to life. He and his wife currently live in Brewster, Massachusetts.

Roger Smith, Author of "The Conductor - Rian Krieger's Journey" on the SPB Show!

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