In 1891, newlyweds Rannei and Arne Bergstrom arrive in New York City full of hope and awe. They've left behind family, friends, and civilization in Norway in search of fertile farmland and a place to start a family. A fellow passenger on the train west convinces Arne to try his hand at sheep-ranching on The Big Gumbo, an inhospitable piece of earth in South Dakota. Arne is enchanted with the notion of taming the unforgiving landscape, but...