Set against the backdrop of the largest railway merger in North American history — the union of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern — this visually arresting documentary follows the resurrection of Locomotive 2816, a 1930s steam engine affectionately known as "The Empress".

Over the course of an 11,000-kilometre odyssey from Calgary to Mexico City, the film captures the first steam locomotive to cross all three nations on a single continuous route. Through the eyes of the steam crew – engineers, firemen, mechanics – and bystanders, from small towns to major cities, PULSE OF THE CONTINENT becomes a lyrical meditation on heritage, memory, and motion.