One issue that The Crossing deals with is family responsibility and the breakup of the family unit. When Billy Parham, the novel's protagonist, at age sixteen says, "Just damn all of it" and decides to return the wolf he has captured to the mountains of Mexico rather than returning to his own home, he not only deserts his family without explanation, but he also takes with him the rifle, which leaves his family more vulnerable to the attack that results in his parents' murder. Billy thus has to deal with guilt over the consequences of his early action. Billy also has to weigh his responsibility to protect and care for his fourteen-year-old brother, Boyd, against his desire to recover the stolen horses so that he can regain his honor and secure a certain amount of justice or, perhaps, revenge. After Boyd is shot, Billy begins to...