Amanda Bartlett runs away from her abusive husband, and finds herself in the gold-mining town of Old Dry Diggings.  It is 1851, the height of the gold rush in the Sierra Nevada.  She faces the unfamiliar challenges of making her way in a male-dominated society, establishing herself as a school teacher, meeting exotic strangers, and finding possible romance.  This delicate balancing act is threatened when her husband comes to town.  She must elude discovery.