Plot Synopsis

Using re-enactments, visual effects, and first-person interviews with historians and experts, GOLD FEVER is a four-part series that follows the Boston Company, a real-life group of 40 men, who made the grueling journey out west with dreams of striking it rich, while trying to survive from January 1848 to October 1850. After traveling to California, the men soon discovered the gold rush wasn't exactly what they expected. Violence, greed and chaos took over, as tens of thousands of miners battled each other over the same small fortune of buried treasure. As the men fought and died for gold, they had no idea that the fortune they'd uncover -- worth an estimated 25 billion dollars -- would transform the country forever, laying the foundation of the American Dream and making possible the creation of an American empire. Discovery aired back-to-back episode on consecutive Fridays from 9-11pm ET/PT, showing the entire limited series on October 11 & 18, 2013.