Washington Territory - 1854 - The matriarchs of two very different families - one of wealth and privilege bound by blood, the other a found family of orphans and outcasts bound by love and necessity - find their fates linked by two crimes, an awful secret, a star-crossed love, and a piece of land with silver underneath. The collision echoes the American struggle of the haves and have-nots, in a place just beyond the reach of justice.