In a small, garishly furnished walk-up apartment on a nondescript Seattle street, two men are sat talking. Blackie Lewis was the elder of the two, and his face wore an expression of impatience, as he glanced from the cards he was cutting with practiced fingers. Since the news of the gold rush broke, childhood friends Johnny and Eddie have made plans to head to the Yukon. Blackie wasn't planning to join them, but something has made him change his mind, and now he's going to make his way to Dawson City too...