In the Indiana Territory at the beginning of the War of 1812, a powerful war chief of the Shawnee tribe clings desperately to his hold on all the lands he sees as his. He has a hatred for the American settlers that he sees as invaders. He sides with the British in the conflict and musters his warriors to battle. But Indians don't utilize battle lines like the British, instead they fight from the element of surprise, attacking without warning. In one such attack, the Shawnee swooped down on a small settlement, striking cabins where peaceful settlers went about their daily routines. In one afternoon, many men, women and children were killed, murdered at the hand of savages and scalped for the five-dollar bounty offered by the British. For Bran Campbell, a young frontiersman, saving lives of the settlers is of paramount importance. But he finds his growing love of a young woman he saved from Shawnee raiders has the potential to change his future altogether. It is a future he covets with growing eagerness.