In this thrilling adventure, ten-year-old Charlie is the target of two disreputable gold miners, one who may be a murderer. Charlie flees with his friend Claire, and the youngsters find themselves lost deep in the forest facing greater threats than the dangerous gold miners. Charlie and Claire confront the Yukon wilderness during a time when the only way to get to Dawson City in the summer was on the water with the great paddlewheelers or on foot using the Telegraph Trail. At the Echo Valley wood camp where the children are staying for the summer, there are no roads and no telephones. To survive, they must rely on their wits. Their older siblings, Edward and Victoria, try to rescue them, but are also caught up in the adventure, and a mystery that is not solved until the very end.