When the Panic of 1837 creates hard times, a dauntless band of pioneering men and women journey from Long Island to Missouri with the hopes of eventually finding a better future in the rich Oregon Territory.

Secret orders from the White House send the legendary frontiersman Toby Holt to Tennessee to take a stand against a private army backing a conspiracy which threatens America's democracy.

Saga of the first wagon train west toward Oregon begins in Independence, Missouri, and ends when the five hundred brave pioneers reach the great plains of Nebraska. Centers on "Whip" Holt, the ruggedly quiet leader of the caravan and Cathy van Ayl, who leaves her family behind in Missouri to travel with Whip Holt's train and perhaps win his heart.