Todd Hoffman, his father Jack and their small aviation business in Sandy, Oregon, have fallen on hard times. But when the going gets tough, the tough seek new frontiers so the duo recruits a band of unemployed friends to become rookie gold miners with them in southeast Alaska. The full team consisting of Jim Thurber, Jimmy Dorsey, James Harness and Greg Remsburg is prepared to beg, borrow and build all they need to get down to the gold and save their struggling families.