Documents the story of Robert "Papa Pilgrim" Hale and the antiestablishment family settlement in remote Alaska that was exposed as a cult-like prison where Hale brutalized and isolated his wife and fifteen children.

Author's note -- Map -- Prologue -- Part one: Pilgrim's trail. The road to McCarthy ; History's shadow ; The Bollard wars ; Sunlight and firefly ; Motorheads ; The Rainbow Cross ; Hostile territory ; Holy Bob and the Wild West ; God vs. the Park Service ; The Pilgrim's Progress -- Part two: The farthest-out place. Hillbilly heaven ; Flight of the angels ; The Pilgrim Family Minstrels -- Part three: Out of the wilderness. A quiet year ; The Wanigan ; Exodus ; Pilgrim's last stand ; The man in the iron cage -- Epilogue: Peaceful harbor -- Sources -- Acknowledgments -- Photography credits.