Relates the history of the Pony Express from when it began to carry messages across the American West in April 1860 until the telegraph replaced it in October 1861.

Describes the disadvantages to being a Pony Express rider, including riding in all weather, natural disasters, and disease.

Based on the true story of Nick Wilson, a young white settler who is accepted as part of the Shoshone Indian tribe and becomes an original Pony Express rider. When a Shoshone warrior "kidnaps" Nick and brings him back to the tribe, Nick learns how to become a warrior himself. But when a gang of settlers, including his brother, comes looking for him, Nick has to face the toughest decision of his life ... return to his real family or stay with the Indian...

Prior to the Civil War, the fastest mail between the West Coast and the East took almost thirty days by stagecoach along a southern route through Texas. Some Californians feared their state would not remain in the Union, separated so far from the free states. Then businessman William Russell invested in a way to deliver mail between San Francisco and the farthest western railroad, in Saint Joseph, Missouri—across two thousand miles of mountains,

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Sixteen-year-old Bill finds adventure when he becomes a rider for the Pony Express though his letters home never hint at the dangers he encounters.