The novel describes the journey of the
Swedish Nilsson family (from
The Emigrants) from
New York City, New York, where they had landed, to
Taylors Falls, Minnesota. With homesteading land available, they settle at Lake Ki-Chi-Saga (now
Lake Chisago),
Minnesota Territory. (Today, the area is
Chisago County,
Minnesota.) There, the Nilssons started building a dwelling and structures for a farm. Robert, Karl-Oskar's younger brother, takes off for
California with his friend Arvid to join the search for gold to join the
Gold Rush. ==References==