Outside the snowy mountain town of Lahood, California, thugs working for big-time miner Coy LaHood ride in and destroy the camp of a group of prospectors and their families who have settled to pan for gold in nearby Carbon Canyon. While leaving, they shoot a dog belonging to fourteen-year-old Megan Wheeler. As Megan buries her dog in the woods and prays for a miracle, thunder rolls and a stranger rides down the slopes.