A war-shocked Civil War veteran returns to find his homestead on the Mississippi River bluffs in ruins, his wife dead, his grown children seeking lives of their own. When an unexpected government land grant of 160 acres of Minnesota prairie land promises Henry Morton a new life, filled with dreams of a second family, new home, and prosperity, he packs up his wagon and treks west toward Todd County. His paths, however, soon cross with those of Agnes Guyette, the young, naïve, and illiterate daughter of a French Canadian settler. Their suspenseful journeys now take them in different directions across the wild beauty of the prairies and threatening Badlands to dramatic and unexpected challenges. There are some giddy moments of happiness --- Agnes galloping through fields of wild prairie flowers; some comical conversations --- Henry sharing confidences with his horse, Major; and some ingenious sequences --- Charles Bertrand springing Henry from jail. Yet, over all, the result is a pilgrimage of the soul forcing the main characters to recognize their own identity, both the good and evil of the human spirit and, finally, the power of friendship and love.