The Splendid Road plot
"She knew in her heart which it would be between the man who gambled gold to win her and the boy who staked his life to win her love."
During the gold rush of 1849, sincere fortune hunter Sandra De Hault arrives in Sacramento, California. She has completed a sea voyage and during this voyage Sandra adopted three children when their mother died en route. Sandra is then rescued from a drunkard by Stanton Halliday, an agent of wealthy eastern banker John Gray. Sandra and Stanton are attracted to each other, but Sandra believes Gray's daughter Lilian is in love with him. Not wanting to ruin Stanton's career, Sandra breaks off their romance and leaves for Reading Flat where she catches the attention of gambler Dan Clehollis.