Isabella Bird travelled through Colorado in the height of the Gold Rush. In her memoir, she describes the impact of the mining and the worship of the ‘almighty dollar'. Ruby, Mel and Emily investigate the impact of the American Dream, then and now.

They visit a ghost town that was 'the richest square mile on Earth' in Bird's time, experience dizzying wealth in the mountains of Aspen, meet members of the Ute tribe, and learn about the genocidal impact of the Gold Rush on indigenous Americans.