Wagons in the mountains. Two men whose reputations precede them in certain circles are thrust together by chance on the trail, far from home, each looking for a new life somewhere else. McLyntock is leading a group of farmers to Oregon to build a new town, and Cole is travelling to California in search of gold. Cole tags along for a while and a kinship emerges between the two ex-raiders. Their journey is tough. Distance is marked by days and the wagons are fragile and the sun is hot and the horses are tired and the trail is jagged and steep and fraught with dangers, and yet they go on. The dream persists. Meanwhile, gold is found nearby and the world changes in a season. The clash of ideals between these men, previously unspoken and undisruptive, is projected untenably onto a once quiet town poisoned by new money. The old deals are not today’s deals. Nobody is safe without a gun and bargains are made with money and without trust. But distance is still measured in days. The trail is still fraught with dangers. For men like Cole, the risks taken for riches are worth the reward, no matter the cost. For men like McLyntock, nothing has more value than one’s word to other people. Like the trail, that hasn't changed. And so the dream persists.