Susanna Fairchild and her family begin their journey by sea to California in the fall of 1848. In the year that follows fourteen-year old Susanna is struck with sickness and tragedy. She watches her friends and neighbors become obsessed with the "Gold Fever." The hardship Susanna and her family endure is always brightened by the prospect that tomorrow will be better. The pages of Susanna's diary reveal that thoughts and dreams of a young girl who, despite the tragedy of her young life, is determined to mature into a woman who plants seeds of hope in the lives of those around her.

		Sunday, The 13th of May We are worried about the bear, but more worried about our dry tree catching fire. So on Tuesday we asked one of the storekeepers if he could find some men willing to help us drag the tree away. He came to our cabin that evening with two hatchets and a ball of twine, then apologized that no one else was willing to help. Never mind. Clara and I have been chopping branches all week. We gathered bundles, tied them with string, then hooked them onto Lilly's harness. Every couple of hours we rested from our wood cutting by walking with our pet a short distance from camp to dump the wood. If there's a forest fire everything will burn, but at least we won't be trapped in our cabin. The long tree trunk is still there, but with the branches gone we were able to roll it a few yards away. It is quite heavy. Every day we listen and look out for the bear. Papa's been gone two weeks.