The plan is all mapped out. Shorty and Libby, his true love, will journey to the gold fields and strike it rich together. But a handsome stranger in a tweed suit shakes the original plan to the core when he persuades Libby to stay in Skagway rather than proceed north to the Klondike with Shorty. Libby soon discovers that her new love is a master criminal by the name of Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith. Convinced that Soapy has never killed anyone, Libby's love holds until a shattering discovery is made.

Despite their initial difficulties, Shorty and Libby marry and begin to climb the social ladder in San Francisco, soon moving into a luxurious residence on Nob Hill-just in time to experience the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire, which destroys the city and their home.

Next comes the adventures of Libby's son, Seth Shaw. Convinced that his thieving biological father, Soapy Smith, passed on to him a condition known as the Black Dog, Seth descends into a life of debauchery and murder-until a single incident turns his life around. Is it the Holy Spirit or a guardian angel that leads him to shed his old skin? And will it be enough to end the curse that followed his family out of the Klondike?