The rush to the gold fields of California is on in the lawless year of 1849, and Will Dwinelle has joined the adventurers. Will and his friend Ben brave the shorter but more dangerous route to the West&150across the isthmus of Panama, to the sultry menace of Panama City, and then by sea to San Francisco. Astonishingly, Will is not in search of gold in California. He's out to find and bring home the man who betrayed the honor of a girl back home. Will runs the gauntlet of cholera, snakes, and bandits on his quest. But the contagious greed for instant riches threatens to distract him from his intended mission of honor.