Twenty years later, and Dillon runs Kingdom Come, a thriving mining town in the mountains. Its survival rests on the railroad coming their way, and the arrival of the surveying team raises concern. Dillon's worries are just beginning though, as Elena and Hope arrive too, seeking him out. It is a time of fading prosperity. The gold rush is drying up along with the hopes of thousands who travelled across the country to find their fortune.
Towns appear and disappear in months and many are left on the streets with no idea what to do next.
Daniel Dillon Dillon is a prosperous businessman. He runs the town of Kingdom Come, a mining town set deep in the Californian mountains. He carries with him a self-destructive streak, awakened by the arrival of his wife and daughter, and heightened by his increasing attempts to persuade the railroad to pass by his town. She is intrigued by Dillon, and overcome with worry about her mother. Donald Dalglish Dalglish is the head of the Pacific Coast Railroad s Surveying Party and arrives in Kingdom Come to assess the route of the railroad.