The first family of gold are back with their biggest gamble yet. Todd Hoffman, his father Jack, and son Hunter tackle a gold-rich Alaskan mine with ragged equipment and a rookie crew. They have seven weeks to find gold before winter freezes them out.

Todd must deliver 300 ounces of gold in just seven weeks. To make it happen, his first step is to get Hot Mess, a massive broken-down wash plant, up and running. Later, Todd goes rogue and opens a new cut behind the mine owner's back.

Desperate to run more paydirt, Todd fires up Big Trommel, but the plant is so worn-out, Todd's nicknamed it `Hot Mess'. The team try fix after fix to keep the plant running and chase their million-dollar goal.

It's Jack Hoffman's birthday but if they want to reach their season goal there's no time for cake. Todd and his crew must discover why the Big Trommel, aka Hot Mess, is leaking out more than half the gold in the pay dirt.

To hit his million-dollar goal, Todd pushes his team to get a third wash plant delivering gold. As the mine ramps up, the road system needs to be overhauled so they can keep pay dirt moving before the deep freeze.

When Alaskan temperatures plunge, Todd and the team are caught by surprise. Their biggest wash plant is frozen and the Hoffmans rush to thaw out their other plants before they're iced out for the season.