William Wright heads west in the 1850’s leaving his wife Caroline behind in Iowa. Arriving in Virginia City, Nevada, at the time of the discovery of the famous Comstock Lode, he sets up shop as a reporter for the Territorial Enterprise under the pen name Dan De Quille. Failing to make it rich in mining stocks, Dan pins his hopes on a new book. After the murder of his friend Julia, he turns to drink. Mark Twain, his younger colleague, succeeds where Dan cannot, as does John Mackay, the magnanimous mine owner. Caroline continues to hope in vain for Dan to return to her, and Zhang the Chinese opium den owner, sings of the plight of all those who toil far from home. The mines loom large, symbolic of both promise and peril, as everyone scrambles for a piece of the big bonanza.