Along with their children, Tom Gannon, a handsome master carpenter and frontiersman at heart, and his wife, Helen, set out to explore the less populated middle America-Chambers, South Dakota, on the banks of the incredible Brule River.

There in Chambers, two thirteen-year-old boys-Tom's son, John, and James Blue Eagle, the Mandan Chief's son-bond in a lasting friendship cemented by a one-room school, athletics, and unusual frontier adventures. In so doing, they help their small frontier town grow in stature during a time of mistrust and uncertainty, ultimately launching their own...