Based on the harrowing true story, THE DONNER PARTY picks up after William Hastings steers a group, nicknamed "Forlorn Hope," off course by promising a shorter route to California through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. After several early snowstorms, the group and its leaders, William Foster (Crispin Glover, Alive in Wonderland, Beowulf) and William Eddy (Clayne Crawford, "24," "CSI"), find themselves lost, freezing and without any source of food. The threat of death and imminent starvation dissolves the group's camaraderie as they are forced sacrifice one another as a source of nourishment. Surviving only on the flesh of the fallen members of their party, the remaining travelers must weigh their consciences against their will to survive.