The Mitchells were a great team . . . a Boston doctor and nurse with dreams of venturing West with their son and medical skills to Pony Ridge, a boarding school on the Nez Perce Reservation. But when Calandra finds herself widowed in 1907, she bravely journeys West with her son Everett to fulfill the dream.
Calandra and Everett quickly understand the appeal of the West and settle into their roles as school nurse and student. Calandra soon falls for Sky, a Nez Perce man who traveled with Chief Joseph as a child and was one of the first Indian children to experience Indian boarding schools and attempts at white assimilation.
Not nearly as overjoyed as his mother, Everett finds in himself surprising resentment towards Sky. Is it jealousy, prejudice, or loyalty to his father?
And when tragedy strikes on a school campout that leads to the death of a young Indian boy, the chain of events will drive Everett to strike out on his own and experience the hardships of war—all while battling the war in his heart.
