Autumn, 1837 Driving onward-against the worst of man and nature-a legendary caravan of men, women and children forge a new link in the wilderness trek from Independence, Missouri to the "Promised Land" beyond the Rockies. 

They are pioneering Americans from North and South-side-by-side with immigrants, a Black man and an Indian-waging a fierce daily battle for bare survival on an uncompromising journey to their private destinies and the fulfillment of America's greatest dream. 

This is the story of fearless devotion to a hard-won ideal, of betrayal from within and sabotage that reaches as far as Britain's and Imperial Russia's shores, of Indian uprising and natural disaster. 

And above all, it is the story of "Whip" Holt, the ruggedly quiet leader of this leg of the perilous migration; and of Cathy van Ayl, who leaves her family behind in Missouri to continue on with Whip Holt's train-perhaps, to win his heart.