A boisterous, confident novel that draws from the epic tradition: It tips its hat to Don Quixote as well as Twain and MeMlle, and it boldly sets out to capture a broad swatch of America's story in the mid-nineteenth century.

At the age of twelve, an orphan named Will Cooper is given a horse, a key, and a map and is sent on a journey through the uncharted wilderness of the Cherokee Nation. Will is a bound boy, obliged to run a remote Indian trading post. As he fulfills his lone-some duty.Will finds a father in Bern; a Cherokee chief, and is adopted by him and his people, developing relationships that ultimately forge Will's character: All the while, his love of Claire, the enigmatic and captivating charge of volatile and powerful Featherstone, will forever rule Will's heart. In a voice filled with both humor and yearning, Will tells of a lifelong search for home, the hunger for fortune and adventure, the rebuilding of a trampled culture, and above all an enduring pursuit of passion.