The Runner is one of seven books in the Tillerman cycle and is the first of the books chronologically. It relates the story of Bullet, a high school student struggling to grow up under the strong rule of an oppressive father. In order to deal with the frustrations in his life, but also for the joy it brings him, Bullet runs. His running helps him gain maturity as he learns "to run his race well."

Four of the Tillerman books feature the children of Bullet's sister Liza.

Homecoming tells of the four children being abandoned by their mother on the parking lot of a Connecticut shopping mall and their later efforts to get to their grandmother's home in Maryland. They are unsure if their grandmother knows of their existence, or if she will be willing to accept them.

Dicey's Song continues the children's saga after they...