Ten year old Georgie Hannigan has a vivid imagination. When the Missouri farm boy learns that his family will emigrate to Oregon, he envisions himself a hero, fighting Indians and killing buffalo. He soon realizes, however, that there is little he can do to protect his loved ones from the brutal reality of trail life. With his misery compounded by loneliness and traumatic memories of his brother's death, true heroism comes when Georgie makes a new friend and confronts an old fear.