It's 1862 and 17-year-old Callum leaves Scotland to join the gold rush in British Colombia's Cariboo region, hoping to save the family farm from foreclosure.

Along the Harrison-Lillooet Trail, he befriends a colourful cast of fellow prospectors, and is forced to confront mortal dangers, including violent ruffians and a treacherous terrain. Callum witnesses how the onslaught of outsiders--fortune-seekers and settlers alike--prove destructive to the First Nations communities and the natural environment.