Revisiting the Black Eagle Child Settlement on the wooded bluffs overlooking the Iowa and Swan Rivers, we meet Young Bear's culturally star-crossed protagonist, Edgar Bearchild. At the beginning of the novel it is the 1950s and Edgar is a child: endearing, curious, and confused. The pride of his people is strong, the grandeur of their tribal traditions palpable, but so are their poverty and the racism of the surrounding area.

There are the traumas of the white-run settlement school, where the strange tongue of English must be learned; weekend trips to tribal dances where invisible bullets fell young braves dressed in traditional regalia and jeans; a hilltop vision that may be the work of the Supernaturals or a UFO. There are more visions, young love, and, moving into the still confusing present, a central murder whose investigation involves a powerful shaman holding court at a Ramada Inn, negligent white cops from nearby Why Cheer, and corrupt tribal authorities who seem more interested in the daily receipt totals of the new tribal casino.

Interweaving the stories of Ted Facepaint, Rose Grassleggings, Junior Pipestar, and Luciano Bearchild, the novel swirls through the present and into the mysteries of the age-old stories and myths that still haunt, inform, and enlighten this uniquely American community.