Sophie follows her husband, Dr. Alfred Fritze from the rich city life in Prussia to the poverty of the American frontier where their survival is challenged by the long frigid Minnesota winter so cold it swallows up hope and leaves privation in its stead. The Dakota people are friendly but there are those who hate the whites. Bigoted settlers spread out endangering the Dakota people's way of life. Men, who would gain from their demise, harass and belittle the Indian way of life. IAugust 1862, Chief Little Crow declares war because 4 boys have killed white women. He knows that the Dakota way of life is doomed. Caught in the middle of a civil war, Sophie loses her son and is taken captive. She and her friends, Tiny Feet and Walking Raven must wait for Sibley's army to rescue them. Alfred and their daughter Mina deliver a baby then must swim the cold waters of the Minnesota River before finding their way to the fort with no walls. The bloody war that changed the way of the Dakota people doesn't last long but too many people die and a nation is destroyed.