The rugged California Eastern Sierra of the 1920s was a tough place for any rookie to stake a claim. For Gus Milo, being in charge of the fish & game enforcement in an area when none was desired, issues multiplied quickly. Having to win over a hardy and suspicious local population, deal with the harsh reality of winter in the high country, and protect and expand the new trout resources so vital to the fledgling economy of California, he was obliged to learn fast. Not a suspicious man by nature, Gus is soon up against a heartless and cruel market hunter and must pursue him to Mono County justice. Along a path of natural discovery he finds friendship, love, and the closeness of community unique to the small towns growing in the jagged shadows of the High Sierra backcountry. Living and loving his new straightforward life, Gus comes to a deep appreciation for those rugged men who led the way before him to make the Eastern Sierra a true fish & game paradise. By bringing the simple and symmetric beauty of a trout rise to the still Sierra waters they provided the final artistic brush stroke to the resplendent canvas of the Eastern Sierra. Its now Gus's turn to continue the legacy.