Bill and Cat follow in the footsteps of the first Americans who migrated south into the Pacific Northwest. Navigating a separate land and sea route, their goal is to unite on the coast and head upriver to harvest and preserve enough salmon to sustain a permanent settlement. Bill begins his adventure paddling a dugout canoe along the coast of Oregon. The bulky, primitive boat is difficult to maneuver, and Bill struggles to find a place to land on the rocky coast. Cat traverses the land route, but as one person alone in the damp forest, she struggles to build a shelter, find food, and make a fire. When Bill and Cat finally unite, they head upstream, where they find dead salmon everywhere - an ominous sign that could mean they missed the salmon spawn, and would fail on the last leg of their journey.