The first family of gold are back with their biggest gamble yet. Todd Hoffman, his father Jack, and son Hunter tackle a gold-rich Alaskan mine with ragged equipment and a rookie crew. They have seven weeks to find gold before winter freezes them out.

Desperate to run more paydirt, Todd fires up Big Trommel, but the plant is so worn-out, Todd's nicknamed it `Hot Mess'. The team try fix after fix to keep the plant running and chase their million-dollar goal.