When Ezra Adams rescues two girls - one white, one Black - on the St. Louis levee in February 1849 he has no idea his impulsive act of charity is about to change his life forever. On his way to guide sixteen families on the treacherous route to California during the height of the Gold Rush, Ezra has little time to help these desperate half-sisters as they run from bounty hunters and slavers. He turns to an old friend, Beth McCorry, who operates a way station on the Underground Railroad. But when Beth gets involved, her own life gets turned upside down as everything she loves goes up in flames. Now Ezra, Beth, Camille and Maddie find themselves thrown together on a wagon train across the western wilderness to a new land - a journey as emotionally turbulent as it physically dangerous. Lured by the promise of freedom and the magnetism of love, as much as any gold, they will discover that family can be found in the most challenging and unexpected circumstances.