Seduced by stories of Depression-era work camps and a cross-country march that ended in an historic riot, Edie follows her wandering husband Slim from mine to mine, caring for their son, Belly, beneath the makeshift shelter of canvas tents. But a decade of hardship takes its toll, and after leaving Slim passed out in an unheated apartment, Edie and Belly find themselves trapped on a snowbound train. Edie slips in and out of memory, retelling Slim's tales both to comfort her son and reinvent herself anew. Together, mother and son ponder their past and possible futures, trying to predict what will happen when they reach their destination.

Vividly inventive, The Time We All Went Marching is an episodic novel of storytelling, memory, and imagination. In this spectacular work of fiction, Arley McNeney reaches deep into the vulnerability of individual perception, holding her readers breathless.