The Civil War is over. North and South, battle-weary soldiers are returning home. But wounded veteran Toby Holt, son of legendary wagon-master Whip Holt, is riding west to claim a homestead on the Washington timberland - and reunite with a wife he barely knows. Here, amid the towering trees and untamed forests, they join other brave pioneers including General Lee Blake's daughter Beth, Holt's trusted partner Rob Martin, and a cargo of brides for the lonely mountaineers. Commissioned to build the first transcontinental railroad - from Washington to Montana and beyond - Holt and his men are prepared to lay down the tracks to America's future. But their struggle proves to be harder than the land itself. Between rocky peaks and ruthless profiteers, it will take guts, grit, and fierce courage to unite this great nation once and for all...from sea to shining sea.