In 1852, during the height of the California Gold Rush, ten-year-old Wong Ming-Chung makes the dangerous trip to America to join his uncle on his hunt for a fortune. In the midst of a lawless, often hostile environment, Ming-Chung manages to forge an international community of friends.

		July 18 ...the American miners blamed us for everything that had gone wrong in their lives — from lower wages to rain and warts. A month before I came, in other districts, the Americans threw the Chinese out. And some of the American miners here want to do the same thing. Uncle says that this is proof that gold is a curse. It twists people's minds and makes them act like beasts. I am beginning to think Uncle is right. I feel like shivering, but not from the cold. America is so lovely — yet so frightening.