Pa's homestead thrives, Laura gets her first job in town, blackbirds eat the corn and oats crops, Mary goes to college, and Laura becomes a certified school teacher.
A former Union soldier is assigned to an abandoned fort within Sioux Indian territory. He learns to love and respect his Native American neighbors and chooses to share in their hardships.
As drought and the Depression threaten to destroy her family's South Dakota farm, twelve-year-old Christine discovers a wondrous cave, which becomes both her own private delight and a possible salvation for the family.
Explores the land, culture, traditions, and current status of the Oglala Lakota Sioux on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota through the voices of a young girl and several elders.