In the series premiere, a group of recession-hit men from Oregon make a high-risk decision to leave their homes and head north to Alaska in search of gold. With little mining experience and everything on the line, the crew gathers heavy equipment, prepares for the difficult journey, and sets out to build a working gold-mining operation in the Alaskan wilderness.

The Hoffman crew races to finish setting up the mining plant and finally begin running dirt through the operation. As the families arrive from Oregon and question the lack of gold, pressure builds on the inexperienced miners, while illness and rising tension threaten to slow their progress before the claim can start producing.