California, 1849, “gold rush” - the events of the story develop against this backdrop. A family of migrants suffers a disaster in the mountains, and a fourteen-year-old boy goes in search of help, leaving his father, mother and little sister in the snow of the Sierra Nevada. But it will be a long time before he meets his loved ones again. The brave boy experiences many dangerous, exciting, and sometimes funny adventures. And all the way he is accompanied by a mysterious old hunter who accidentally met in the forest...For middle school age.