It is 1865. People are moving westward along the Oregon Trail, searching for freedom, land, and wealth. Sarah sets out with her new husband, Johnny, only to find he has been damaged in the Civil War. He abandons her and chases rumors of gold in the Black Hills. A young Indian finds her and takes her to his village. She is accepted on the condition she teach them language skills necessary to cope with the onslaught of white settlers. Sarah has no choice but to stay. She learns to appreciate their culture and their dilemma, is torn between that and white civilization as she knows it. The Indian chief, Makhpiya Luta, goes to Washington D.C. to make peace with President Grant, taking Sarah in his party. He returns to his lands, leaving Sarah to make her way in a world to which she no longer belongs. Boarding schools for Indian children open up possibilities for her. The experience of teaching in these is disillusioning. She goes back to live among and teach her adopted people.