"The novel follows the Cecil family's arduous journey by riverboat and wagon from Boone's Lick, Missouri, to Fort Phil Kearny in Wyoming. Fifteen-year-old Shay narrates, describing the journey that begins when his Ma, Mary Margaret, decides to hunt down her elusive husband, Dick, to tell him she's leaving him. Without knowing precisely where he is, they set out across the plains in search of him, encountering grizzly bears, stormy weather, and hostile...

Continues the story of Tasmin Berrybender and her wealthy but eccentric family as they make their way through the unexplored wild West during the 1830s, when the clash between the powerful Indian tribes of the Missouri and the encroaching white Americans is on the verge of becoming a full-blown tragedy.