California.

Jonathan Trumbo is hired to guide a wagon train bound for California during the Gold Rush. Trumbo, a deserter who had been an Army lieutenant, is hired by a woman accused of cheating at poker in a saloon. Lily Bishop ends up in Pharaoh City, a town controlled by a former slave trader who opposes the law and order of California approving statehood. When his wounds heal, Trumbo returns and becomes a spokesman for statehood advocacy.