In the season premiere, Dustin and his loyal crew head deep into the remote Alaskan wilderness on their most ambitious, difficult, and dangerous season ever, as they risk their lives in the raging creeks of Alaska searching for a life-changing pile of gold nuggets.

Dustin disappears after a season-ending injury, leaving the crew to save their skyline with a risky "break it to fix it" plan. The new, but not improved, "deuce sluice" dredge pushes Dustin to the edge, but a win lifts crew morale, reigniting their drive.

On the gold, Dustin's crew inches closer to a monster payday. On a resupply mission to civilization, Wes goes missing after a life-threatening fall from the airboat into the raging 36°F river, and the crew fears the worst.