In 1858, near the Kansas/Missouri border, Elizabeth and Wid marry. Civil War disrupts their future. Wid joins the Union army, leaving Elizabeth pregnant and surrounded by Confederate sympathizers. She faces war and privation, having word of her husband only through his letters home.

Amanda Bartlett runs away from her abusive husband, and finds herself in the gold-mining town of Old Dry Diggings. It is 1851, the height of the gold rush in the Sierra Nevada. She faces the unfamiliar challenges of making her way in a male-dominated society, establishing herself as a school teacher, meeting exotic strangers, and finding possible romance. This delicate balancing act is threatened when her husband comes to town. She must elude discovery.

It is 1865. People are moving westward along the Oregon Trail, searching for freedom, land, and wealth. Sarah sets out with her new husband, Johnny, only to find he has been damaged in the Civil War. He abandons her and chases rumors of gold in the Black Hills. A young Indian finds her and takes her to his village. She is accepted on the condition she teach them language skills necessary to cope with the onslaught of white settlers. Sarah has no choice but to stay. She learns to appreciate their culture and their dilemma, is torn between that and white civilization as she knows it. The Indian...

It is 1865. People are moving westward along the Oregon Trail, searching for freedom, land, and wealth. Sarah sets out with her new husband, Johnny, only to find he has been damaged in the Civil War. He abandons her and chases rumors of gold in the Black Hills. A young Indian finds her and takes her to his village. She is accepted on the condition she teach them language skills necessary to cope with the onslaught of white settlers. Sarah has no choice but to stay. She learns to appreciate their culture and their dilemma, is torn between that and white civilization as she knows it. The Indian...