On the wagon road toward the untamed Oregon Territory of 1845, the Colter family is ambushed by a kill-crazy gang of cutthroats. Fifteen-year-old Tim Colter manages to escape and hide, only to find his parents butchered, his sisters missing, and one last killer waiting for his return. Forced to fight for his life, Tim embarks on a perilous journey across a lawless frontier, hoping to save his sisters and salvage their dream, but first, he must figure out how to survive. Luckily, he finds a friend in Jed Reno, a grizzled one-eyed trapper who has lived in the Rocky Mountains since the 1820s, and who was attacked by the same gang that ambushed Tim's family.