In 1862 the largest Indian uprising in American history occurred in southern Minnesota. Hundreds of whites were killed. Women were taken captive. Taken captive by the Sioux, Judith Raveling is given to Scarlet Plume, one of the many warriors who know their cause is lost. Caught between the men who would wage war ruthlessly and his own judgment, which tells him how dearly the Sioux will pay for every white person killed, Scarlet Plume tries to save as many as he can. Defying the dangers of a pitiless war, he returns Judith to the safety of her people. Soon she must try to save him.