"Jedediah "Jedd" Colter is a man with big dreams that go beyond the mountains of North Carolina. When he's offered a job of guiding the recently formed California Enterprise Company of Tennessee from Knoxville to the gold fields of California, Jedd knows that the opportunity is too good to refuse. The Sadler brothers promise him a cut of the fortune that mining brings them, but their real plan is to hit pay dirt by becoming merchants and cheat Jedd out of his earnings. While the journey is difficultand the leader is incompetent, Jedd's natural skills enable him to keep the peace and save them all from disaster. But when Jedd is injured along the way, the Sadlers inform him that his services are no longer needed and head west without him. After Jedd recovers he only has one thing on his mind-making it to California on his own-and getting even with those that did him wrong" -- Cover verso.