Down the Line: 1

Now that hes graduated high school Alex Winzelberg can finally move to New York to start his acting career. Problem is his parents need his help in their shipping warehouse and between his dads mental illness and his moms endless to-do lists hes convinced hell never travel farther than the movie theater on the weedy outskirts of his Idaho hometown.It isnt until Alex receives an email from an old pen pal that he sees a spark of the future hes always dreamed about. What ensues is a series of correspondence between him and an eccentric girl named Ina who tries to convince him that he can leave his needy family and meet her across the country in New York. But with his dads mental illness getting worse and his mothers worries rising higher than ever Alex decides to stay for a year in order to help out. He believes everything is fine until Inas messages turn more and more cryptic--to the point that Ina has already set up a time and place for them to meet in the middle of Queens. She says shes in danger and Alex knows nothing can stop him from helping her. Only once the two finally come face to face Alex realizes hes going to have to give up something almost impossible in order to help Ina and take care of his family.