In 1900, as a family of Finnish immigrants begins farming on the edge of a Minnesota lake, Matti works as a store clerk, teaches English, and works on the homestead, striving to get out of his older brother's shadow and earn their father's respect.

In late 1800s Minnesota, 13-year-old Ben Ward goes to work with his father in a lumber camp and signs up for a log drive with his friend Nevers, where together they endure freezing weather, dangerous rapids, logjams, storms, floods, and pioneer life in general.