When the going gets tough, the tough seek new frontiers. Six recession-hit patriots from Oregon become greenhorn old miners and head north to Alaska to dig for gold and save themselves from financial ruin.

In Nome, Alaska, the gold rush is on. Meet the dredgers, driven by gold fever and sometimes desperate need, who pilot their ragtag dredges and dive with hoses to suck up gold from the bottom of the frigid, unpredictable Bering Sea.

The summer season over, 3 teams of miners dive under the ice to dredge gold on the floor of the Bering Sea. Two dredge teams struggle to winterize their operations, train their crews, and get the gold. But one new, scrappy crew of friends hits pay dirt.