During the ninetienth-century gold rush, Dillon travels to the snow-covered mountains of California seeking his fortune. One day, when he gets drunk, Dillon trades his wife Elena and his child Hope for a bag of gold. Two decades later Dillon runs a thriving mining town in the mountains. It is a time of fading prosperity, and as the gold rush is drying up, Dillon's survival rests on the railroad coming their way. Dillon's worries are just beginning when Elena and Hope arrive too, looking for him.