The year is 1850, and a young teacher Pennelope Pope has an obsession to go west with a wagon train. She is opposed by her parents and especially by her best friend Jedediah Wingate who is in love with her. Willful Penny answers an ad to go to California to teach the children of Spanish Don Carlos Cardoza. She refuses Jed's proposal, opting for adventure instead of marriage. Little could she dream of what lay ahead. Jed finishes his law degree and travels to London to learn from railroad engineers, and becomes involved with a former girlfriend. When he returns to the US he becomes an aide to the President and is assigned to discover the possibilities for the transcontinental railroad. This takes him to California. Will he find Penny?