An arson fire that killed their parents has left seventeen-year-old Jacob and his fifteen-year-old sister, Beth Ann homeless orphans. Driven by the fear the arsonists want them dead they sneak off in the dead of night and head west. Their only hope of survival is to catch up with an aunt who is headed for Oregon. With killers on their trail the greenhorns run headlong into the unknown dangers of the open prairie. They are both too na ve to realize that not all the helping hands offered them can be trusted.