Scruggs unsuccessfully tries to bow out when his friend Jack Derwood requests his company on a search expedition for lost gold in the Yukon. Soon the boys find themselves rolling along the scenic highways of Alaska in an open Jeep and in the company of Jack's uncle and some other "interesting" characters.

But early on, trouble surfaces and starts to cast a long shadow over their prospects. Scrambled telegrams, smoking maps, homemade helium balloons, and a machine named OSCAR are just a few of the nuggets that propel this nonstop adventure.