Julia, a mixed-race woman born into slavery in Louisiana, escapes brutal plantation life only to be captured by the Comanche. She holds tight to her dream of Canada and freedom as she unwillingly witnesses the acts of savagery the Indians perpetrate against the whites.
Later traded to the Cheyenne, she is reluctantly drawn to a visiting Sioux warrior. The newcomer she calls Horse Man is both gentle and savage, compassionate and ruthless.
In a vision, Sunkawakan Iyopeya--Julia's Horse Man--has seen white soldiers corral his people like cattle onto barren land. He visits the Cheyenne to convince them to band with him and his tribe, the Lakota Sioux, against the soldiers at Fort Laramie who would destroy the Indian way of life. While in the village, he meets beautiful but fiercely independent Julia. Both struggle against their growing attraction.
He is torn between love and duty. She is torn between love and freedom.
Can their love surmount the prejudices and animosity of 19th century America? Or will those forces tear them apart?