Leaving Ireland for the shores of America, a young man loses his parents en route--one to death, one to insanity--and falls victim to the sadistic captain of the ship. Luckily, he is befriended by a legendary Scottish adventurer, whom he accompanies to the wild American frontier. But along the way, new troubles await. The companions are framed for murder in New Orleans, chased by bounty hunters, and escape with a band of fur trappers to the Rocky Mountains. Only then, in the solitude of the wilderness, does the young traveler discover the purpose in life for which he has been searching.