Gold fever sweeps the country as a twelve-year-old aspiring writer travels to the Yukon with her family and best friend, fighting natural disasters and a clever thief After traveling from San Francisco by steam ship, Hetty McKinley, her best friend, Alma, and their families prepare for the five-hundred-mile trek north to the gold fields of the Yukon. It's only September, but the Arctic Circle is already frigid. As the two families, along with hundreds of other prospectors, camp out for the night near the outpost of Dyea, Hetty catches a glimpse of the legendary Chilkoot Pass, the narrow gap through which they'll cross Alaska into Canada. But the next morning, Alma's mother discovers that all their money is gone! A few days later, Hetty's cherished locket, containing a photograph of her dead mother, disappears. More thefts soon follow, but these are the least of their problems. Soon, the group is battling typhoid, blizzards, and a terrifying avalanche. Will Hetty and her family and friends survive their journey to the top of the world?