In this sequel to Romancing the Klondike, it is 1898 and Pearl Owens has been in Dawson City for two years. She'd originally come north with her cousin Emma to write articles about the people and places along the Yukon River for her hometown newspaper and had stayed to write about the Klondike Gold Rush and Dawson City. She is in Dawson City when it is declared the capital of the newly founded Yukon Territory.

Pearl has been unlucky in love. She fell in love with a man but he loved another woman. Another man has expressed his desire to court Pearl, but Pearl wishes only to be friends with him.
Pearl's best friend, Florence, and her older brother, Doctor Andrew Beckwith, leave their homes in Nova Scotia to cross the Chilkoot Trail and float down the Yukon River with hundreds of other gold seekers to Dawson. Andrew's dream is to find gold and his first desire is to stake a gold claim after such a long, hard trip. He feels a growing attraction for Pearl but must decide whether he wants to win her hand or follow his dream.

Pearl remembers Andrew as the scrawny boy who threw snakes and spiders at her and Florence when they were children. She is taken by the handsome man he has become.