The Crossing

The Crossing forms the second part of Cormac McCarthy's critically acclaimed Border Trilogy, a story that began with All the Pretty Horses and concludes with Cities of the Plain.

Set on the south-western ranches in the years before the Second World War, Cormac McCarthy's The Crossing follows the fortunes of sixteen-year-old Billy Parham and his younger brother Boyd. Fascinated by an elusive wolf that has been marauding his family's property, Billy captures the animal - but rather than kill it, sets out impulsively for the mountains of Mexico to return it to where it came from.

When Billy comes back to his own home, he finds himself and his world irrevocably changed. His loss of innocence has come at a price, and once again the border beckons with its desolate beauty and cruel promise.

The Crossing is like a river in full spate: beautiful and dangerous. — The Times

This edition is part of the Picador Collection, a new list of the best in contemporary literature published in Picador's 50th Anniversary year. McCarthy's eagerly anticipated new novels, The Passenger and Stella Maris, will be published by Picador in October 2022.