Content Warning: This section discusses death by suicide, graphic abuse and death of animals, murder, and offensive language regarding mental health and Indigenous people.

Maps of the Pacific Northwest in 1897 appear before the start of Part 1.

In July 1897, 15-year-old Jason Hawthorn stands on a New York City street corner selling copies of the New York Herald. His newspapers sell out quickly; the front page announces that prospectors discovered “gold in Alaska” and arrived in Seattle bearing suitcases of newfound wealth (1), where a crowd greeted them with celebratory cheers. The story says that Alaska offers hope to many seeking their fortune after four years of national economic depression.

Jason has spent the last 10 months working his way across the US from his hometown of Seattle, determined to live “on his own hook” for at least a year (5). Now, though, he is enamored with the adventurous sound of the “Klondike” and determined that he, too, will benefit from its treasures. While his older brothers, Abraham and Ethan, settled for lives as wage earners, Jason wants to work for himself and have an independent lifestyle that his deceased father sought but never achieved. Jason decides to return to Seattle, outfit himself with supplies, and head north to the goldfields.