Ellen Janson is here to set the record straight about the highly publicized, oft-sensationalized journey her family undertook in 1846. Ellen sets out with her mother, Irena, and her father, Leo, on the treacherous road west in search of a better life. But when her father chooses to split off from the party, taking an untested shortcut through the mountains, can their small family survive the elements, the wildlife-and each other? Or will their journey become nothing more than another goddamn tragedy?