The film is a semi-biographical story based upon the early life and rise to prominence of Native American dog musher George Attla, Jr.

Attla was a leading star of the 1960s and 1970s in the sport of sprint dog sled racing.

He won the Fur Rendezvous World Championship race, held in Anchorage, Alaska, 10 times between 1958 and 1982.

In a 2011 interview, Attla spoke of the popularity of the Iditarod, and how sprint racing "is now a second-class sport" as a result.

The general theme of the story centered around Attla's rivalry with the other leading sprint competitors of the day, fellow Alaska Native Gareth Wright (the brother of political gadfly Don Wright and grandfather of modern-day dog musher Ramy Brooks) and Massachusetts musher Roland "Doc" Lombard, the preparations for an upcoming big race, and his first major race victory.