SYNOPSIS
In 1903, we follow biographer ANNA STODDART as she journeys by train to discover the subject of her latest book, the 19th Century travel writer and explorer, ISABELLA BIRD. Through collected letters to HENRIETTA BIRD, Isabella's sister, and Isabella's own memories we recall her childhood home in Cheshire, England in the 1830s, where Miss Bird's scientific mind and independent spirit were first nurtured, while developing a love for the tales of Marco Polo and Lewis and Clark. It is here as a young girl that Isabella is first diagnosed with carbunculosis, a painful, life-long condition that threatens to cut short her grand dreams of exploring the whole world atop her horse. Fortunately, determination proves to be a virtue Miss Bird develops at a young age.
In 1874, we come upon a healthier, robust Isabella Bird on a steam ship en route to San Francisco from the Sandwich Islands. Now a renowned explorer and author, who becomes adept at hiding her afflictions, the ever restless spirit of Isabella leaves her asking herself where next to set her sights. Onboard she meets two young botanists and admirers who tell her of their recent ascent of Long's Peak and the breath-taking scenery of Estes Park. With Colorado as her new destination she arrives via train in the pioneer town of Truckee, renting a horse in order to explore the majestic Lake Tahoe. Her plans are once again nearly dashed when she is thrown from her horse after encountering a grizzly bear. Several of her medicine bottles are crushed in the fall, but Miss Bird is unhurt and sets forth bravely for Colorado.
She arrives in Greeley, Colorado, the base of the Rocky Mountains, in the fall of 1874. After several failed attempts by paid guides, Isabella finally reaches the glorious Estes Park where she meets famed desperado ROCKY MOUNTAIN JIM NUGENT, finding lodging with GRIFFITH EVANS and his family. She soon strikes a friendship with MRS. EDWARDS, the African American cook and herbalist, who gives Miss Bird her own pair of boots for her mountaineering expedition. Isabella begins her trek to reach the top of Long's Peak with Mountain Jim as her guide. After a near fall and a midnight encounter with a rattlesnake, the pair reach "Dog's Lift" 400 feet below the crest of Long's Peak where Isabella shows her agility in climbing the near vertical ascent with ease, and doing so, becomes the first woman to reach the summit.
It is on the way down the mountain, en route to Estes Park, that Mountain Jim reveals his poeticism and a tenderness toward Miss Bird, unmasking his brusque trapper's facade and tightening a bond between the two. Isabella arrives back at the Evans Lodge to discover she is now stranded in Estes Park due to a financial panic in Denver. She had previously entrusted Evans with her last hundred dollar note to change for her while he was in Denver on business, so that she could purchase much needed replenishments of her medical supplies on his return. With only twenty six cents to her name and no way of knowing when Evans will return with her money, her situation becomes increasingly desperate with her dwindling medicinal stock. Making the most of her time by exploring the woods with wise Mrs. Edwards, visiting Mountain Jim at his home in Muggins Gulch, and even trying her hand at cattle herding. Evans finally returns with news that he had to appropriate Isabella's hundred dollar note due to hard times in Denver and will not be able to pay her back for several more weeks. This is drastic news for the restless Miss Bird whose carbunculosis has flared up causing her great difficulty to hide her near constant pain.
Simultaneously trouble is brewing in the hidden backstory of Estes Park. Evans reveals his involvement with the greedy LORD DUNRAVEN in a marauding land scheme to buy up more than 6,000 acres of Estes Park. Dunraven is aided by the sinister WILLIAM HAIGH, quintessential English dandy, who with forgery and force as necessary creates phony land claims, enabling Dunraven to illegally bypass the 1862 Homestead Act which forbids an individual owning more than 150 acres. Together they have their sights set on Mountain Jim's pristine and coveted claim at Muggins Gulch, the last piece of the puzzle, which sits squarely on the only entrance to the Park. Jim refuses to sell and will not be bullied, as Evans, now desperate for money, becomes all too easily caught in their web of greed.
In the next weeks, Isabella and Mountain Jim spend more and more time with each other, with Jim finally declaring his love for her. This declaration frightens Miss Bird, tugging at her own heart and conflicting desire. She is one who refuses to let herself be tied up in the institution of marriage, which would restrict her freedom and ability to be out among the world she so desperately longs to explore. Yet she is drawn to Jim.
Evans in a dire financial situation sells Estes Park to Dunraven for the sum of five thousand dollars, allowing him to pay Miss Bird the money she is owed. Isabella plans to leaves at once for New York. She agrees to let Mountain Jim accompany her to catch the stage wagon at Namaqua. They share a tearful goodbye with Jim promising her that the two will meet again. At the station they happen upon William Haigh, who is also boarding the wagon. Miss Bird introduces Mountain Jim to Mr. Haigh, the first domino in an unfortunate chain of events that ultimately leads to Mr. Evans murdering Mountain Jim under orders of Haigh and Lord Dunraven.
These last tales are told to the biographer, Mrs. Stoddart, by the now septuagenarian Mrs. Isabella Bird Bishop at her Edinburgh home in 1903. The widowed Mrs. Bishop, on borrowed time with advanced heart disease, whilst having a treasure trove of decades of travel stories to discuss with her hand-picked biographer, instead chooses to tell of her last days and moments with Mountain Jim, a figure whose death will haunt her all her life.
