Includes bibliographical references (page 273).

After her parents' deaths and the recession force her out of her home in 1873, Jenny Dousmann heads for the Wild West. She knows that if she can find her brother, Otto, a Civil War veteran, he'll take care of her. When they finally reunite, Jenny is surprised to find that Otto has been working as a buffalo hunter and is struggling even to support himself. The number of hunters in the West has increased rapidly, and buffalo has become scarce. To make matters worse, the whites and the native Indians are constantly at war, putting everyone in the area in danger. Their first winter alone in the West is devastating: Jenny is raped by two US soldiers passing through the area, while Otto is crippled during a blizzard. They are discovered, near death, by a member of a nearby Cheyenne tribe. Two Shields is an Indian buffalo skinner, and he vows to keep them safe. To do so, Two Shields asks them to become members of his tribe. He promises to teach them how to hunt like his people and to live simply on the land. Jenny and Otto must decide if they should continue to depend on only each other or if they should put their lives in the hands of a man who is supposed to be their enemy.