West River is a tale of the last pioneers on America's western frontier and the lessons they learned. Growing up on his father's Badlands homestead, Bill Barton chases his boyhood dream of one day staking his own homestead claim in the Black Hills. Bill learns that dreams, no matter how hard a man may struggle to make them come true, can turn to dust before his very eyes. Losing everything, Bill comes to accept that a man needs to take life as it comes and make of it what he can. Born into hard times, Bill's daughter Velda grows up learning how to make do and do without. Never backing down, Velda fights for her place in the world, while the Barton family struggles with the harsh realities of poverty amidst the daunting challenges of draught and depression. The sudden outbreak of world war transforms the Barton family and their fortunes. With a victorious America emerging as the leader of a new world order, the Barton family is left to ponder the deeper meaning of America's newfound prosperity, its outsized role in the world, and whether future generations will be willing to stay the course and pay the price.