First Cow

The action begins in the 1820s Oregon Country, a rough frontier where fur traders, settlers, and Indigenous and immigrant communities intersect. There is a present-day prologue revealing two skeletons, signaling the long memory of violence in the region. The period is defined by hardship, scarcity, and the lure of wealth through new foods and trade.

Set on the Oregon Country frontier in the early 1820s, the story centers on a fur-trading outpost and the estate of a powerful Chief Factor. The river and surrounding forests frame daily life, where commerce, risk, and survival intersect. A present-day framing shows skeletons found by a riverside, adding a modern echo to the frontier tale.

🍞 Food & Fortune

Food becomes a vehicle for wealth on the frontier: Cookie and Lu turn a simple milk-based treat into a booming market. The bakery venture exposes the pressure between survival, ingenuity, and risk. As profits rise, so does the danger from those who feel threatened by new wealth.

🌐 Cultural Encounter

A Chinese immigrant and an American frontier cook form a fragile partnership, illustrating cross-cultural exchange and tension. The story probes how identity, language, and unfamiliar customs shape commerce and trust. Ambition pushes them to blend traditions, sometimes cynically, sometimes creatively.

💰 Ambition & Risk

The lure of wealth drives bold, sometimes reckless decisions, such as hiding money in a tree and courting danger. The frontier economy rewards daring schemes while exposing vulnerabilities to those in power. The pursuit of fortune tests loyalty, ethics, and the limits of self-preservation.