Spanning the years 1825 to 1890, "INTO THE WEST" follows two multi-generational families, one settlers and the other Native American, each telling the dramatic stories of the development of the West from their distinct points of view.

Hailing from Virginia is the Wheeler clan, a family of wheelwrights whose story focuses on Jacob (Settle), a spirited young man who heads west and eventually marries a Native American woman named Thunder Heart Woman (Carmelo). After it is believed that Jacob has been killed, his brother Jethro (Ulrich) vows to protect Jacob