Synopsis

The gold discovery of 1848 in San Francisco ignited a fever, and this is a vivid account of that extraordinary rush. As historian J.S. Holliday observes, "Second only to the Civil War in the nineteenth century, no event stirred the nation quite like it." The narrative follows the intertwined fates of five individuals: a Chilean nobleman seeking a second chance; a New York blacksmith who abandoned his family for the promise of fortune; and a resolute woman from Missouri, each driven by the allure