1866. Will Stewart is one of many who have left their old lives behind to seek their fortunes in New Zealand's last great gold rush. Rose is about to arrive on the shores of South Island when a storm hits and her ship is wrecked. She is snatched from the jaws of death by Will. Drawn together by circumstance they stay together. But after a terrible misunderstanding they are cruelly separated and their new-found happiness is shattered. As Will chases Rose across oceans and continents he must come to terms with the possibility that he might never see her again. And if he does he will have to face the man who took her . . .