In 1852, a young Missouri family become separated by the lure of gold and new dreams to be found in the new Oregon territory. Traveling in wagon trains and aboard ships, on pony and by foot, their quests take them four times crossing the North and Central American continent[KHG1] as they strive to find each other.

This true story recounts each of James and Elizabeth Bushnell's perilous journeys in order to be reunited as a family. Individually they face many hardships among some of the earliest wagon train crossings. Once in the Oregon territory, James additionally endures unusual perils including a typhoid epidemic, near starvation during his first winter of gold mining, and losing his precious gold when the Shasta City bank burns down.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth grows weary caring for their infant son and struggling farm alone in Missouri. Without mail or communication reaching either of them, Elizabeth sells their farm, and joins a wagon train heading out west. James' mother and two brothers make the move with her. In the Idaho area, they listen to an inexperienced guide and leave the majority of wagons to take a new, southern route to the middle Willamette Valley. This proves disastrous!