John Aspiras

Author Bret Harte relates the story of the discovery of gold in California at Sutter's Mill, and how that discovery changed the history of the west forever.

In the 1850's, a young boy and his family on their way West become stranded in the Rockies. With the help of a local mountain man, a Sioux medicine man, and a legendary bear known as "Walking Thunder," the boy learns to become a man, and his family's survival is secured.

In this belated sequel to 'Lilies of the Field' (1963), jack-of-all-trades Homer Smith revisits the chapel in the Arizona desert that he helped build for five German nuns under the supervision of Mother Maria, and he reluctantly helps them out of a pinch once more.