When a particularly rainy growing season in Walnut Grove destroys any hope of a harvest the Ingalls and the Edwards families set out on a 400 mile trip to the Dakota gold fields, hoping to pan enough gold to see them through the cold Minnesota winter. There they meet other families with similar hopes and dreams as well as those who will stop at nothing to acquire the wealth they desire. Can Charles and Isaiah keep their families safe and reach their goal in this wild and dangerous country?