In 1860's Victoria, British Columbia, seventeen-year-old Robb McDonald is in love with high-society Emma. But Robb, his father, and his brothers work at the Hudson's Bay post, and their lowly position makes him an unacceptable husband in the British class system in which they live. Determined to win Emma's heart, and the approval of her father, Robb leaves his family behind and joins a group of American miners heading north along the Fraser River, hoping to strike it rich in the BC gold rush. He must grow up fast in this uncharted and daunting land as he and his new friends face scarce food, wild animals, the violence of desperate men who will kill to get gold, and the lack of law enforcement to prevent it. Part coming-of-age novel, part adventure, and part Canadian historical fiction, Nuggets is the poignant and compelling story of how one young man sets out to find gold only to find so much more.