Simon Maxwell has a life-long dream of exploring the American west and following in the footsteps of Capt. Meriwether Lewis and 2nd Lt. William Clark to the Pacific Ocean. But his father insists that he learn a vocation. While at university, he meets Anthony Clark and Susannah, his friend’s sister, a woman fascinated by her father’s law books.

Simon passes the bar and becomes a lawyer but cannot resist his dreams of the past. With his lovely wife Susannah at his side, he sets out from Boston bound for California by ship, braving Panama’s heat and tangled jungles along the way. They arrive in the port of San Francisco during the height of the American gold rush. Along the way, he meets stranded immigrants, and with his intelligence and skills at finalizing a deal, he becomes a partner in a saw mill among the tall trees of the California coastline.

Despite his new life, the siren call of the legal profession beckons, and Simon and his wife realize their destiny is in Sacramento. Leaving their friends behind, they start anew in the capital city and find themselves immersed in the intrigue, drama, glamour and excitement of the period.