Locusts have cleaned out his fields, and it's been survival from hunting and trapping. A decent wage and found, and the promise of a fat bonus…if he lives to collect it…
He's compelled to sign on as a wagon and mule train guard into unchartered territory, from Oregon to gold rush San Francisco. All that's between him and a bonus that will carry Jake and his family through another year, are hundreds of savages, weather, a Sierra crossing, and wild animals on rugged trails.
It's get there with the cargo, or all is lost.