After Geraldine Coutts is attacked on the Ojibwe reservation in North Dakota, her husband Bazil, a tribal judge, tries to find justice for his wife, and their teenage son Joe tries to help his mother heal.
When twelve-year old Rebecca Carter's father brings a Native American accused of murder into their 1812 Ohio settlement town, Rebecca, witnessing the town's reaction to the Indian, struggles with the idea that an innocent man may be convicted and sentenced to death.
Former sheriff Cork O'Connor is called in to investigate when an explosion rocks a lumber mill owned by wealthy industrialist Karl Lindstrom, resulting in the death of a night watchman, and casting suspicion on the Anishinaabe people who had expressed concern over the mill's proximity to a stand of ancient white pines sacred to the tribe.
In 1854, ten-year-old Kirsten, living with her family in Minnesota, meets a raiding party of Ojibway Indians and finds unexpected help when her dog is in danger.