The book begins with the protagonist, Saul Indian Horse, introducing himself rather formally. He introduces his people, the Ojibway tribe, as Canadian First People strongly connected to the earth: “the deep brown of our eyes seeped out of the fecund earth” (1). Chapter 1 also introduces the novel’s narrative frame: Saul Indian Horse is a “hardcore drunk” (2) being forced to tell his story as part of his treatment in the rehab facility he lives in. His caseworker has given him permission to write it down, which is how the novel came to be.

Chapter 2 describes how Saul’s great-grandfather brought the first horse to his people. At first they are suspicious, but the horse’s usefulness shows itself quickly and they embrace “Kitchi-Animoosh” or “Great Dog.” His great-grandfather, Shabogeesick, calls his people to the teaching rocks to tell them that the spirit teaching of the horse is that ‘A great change will come. It will come with the speed of lightning and it will scorch all our lives’ (7). At the end of Chapter 2, it states that his family name became Indian Horse after the white man (“Zhaunagush”) discover that his great-grandfather was the one to bring the horse to their people.