It’s the early nineteenth century, and the American West is still wild and untamed. Young William Wyeth is ready to throw caution to the wind and join a fur-trapping outfit, even though it means braving wild animals, sudden blizzards, and conflicts with hostile British trappers.  

Still, nothing can compare to the elation William feels when he meets and falls in love with Alene, a proud widow who insists she will not wait more than a year. As William sets off on one last mission with a group of grizzled eccentrics and an enigmatic, hotheaded leader, it soon becomes clear that making it back to Alene might require more skill than any one man possesses.