Abigail Ashford, better known as Abby to her friends, was in a pickle. She had to find someone to guide her train to California. Butch Cully was the only man available that could do the job. She didn't think much of him at first. After all, he'd been nursing a hang-over. But she couldn't be choosey as she had to get a wagon train of mail order brides to the California gold fields.

Butch Cully knew he was in for a ride with twenty five women and two children going to California to marry. Still, it was a job and he'd do his best to stay out of their way and get them through. Butch knew it would be rough going, and he knew he'd have to teach them everything he could abou survival, and maybe, just maybe they'd be worth their salt by the time they reached the gold fields. He'd worry about what he was turning them over to, when he got them there!