Kevin Manley, a poor Canoga Park travel agent, is dismayed that he hasn't yet accomplished anything meaningful in his life, he arranging trips for others he knows he will never go on himself. He gets to kill two birds with one stone in quitting his job to travel to Anchorage, Alaska, for the reading of his grandfather Walter Manley's will. Kevin, the sole heir, learns that he will only inherit the estate if he completes the 1,000 mile Iditarod dog sled race, which starts in two days. After finding one specific possession belonging to his grandfather, Kevin decides to attempt the race against the odds, not so much for the estate, but more just to prove to himself that he is a "Manley" worthy of his grandfather's family name. He quickly learns that someone is trying to prevent him from completing that race. His first thought as to that person is a fellow competitor Bonnie Livengood, the granddaughter of his grandfather's former business partner, the two who eventually had a falling out....