California, 1860, and former gold digger Daniel Dillon is now a wealthy man who owns Kingdom Come, a thriving prospecting town in the icy mountain wilderness of post-Gold Rush northern California, but to expand his burgeoning empire Dillon needs the Central Pacific Railroad to pass by and he has invited their chief surveyor. This coincides with the arrival of his wife and daughter, whom Daniel has not seen for twenty years, and as he attempts to seek some redemption for his dark past, the empire he has so painstakingly built begins to show signs of weakness.
'The Claim' is a strong period drama, adapted from Thomas Hardy's 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' and set in a breathtaking landscape.