Content Warning: The novel uses the term “Indians” to refer to Indigenous Americans. The study guide uses the term “Indian” in the summary material to follow the term used in the book; elsewhere, it refers to Indigenous people. The novel also includes episodes of rape and murder.

The novel opens as Sarah Prine and her family (Mama, Papa, and brothers Ernest, Albert, Harland, and Clover) are traveling by wagon toward San Angelo, Texas Territory. The Prines owned a horse ranch in Western New Mexico Territory, but one day Papa decided the family should sell their home, round up their livestock, and set off for greener pastures.

During the trip, Sarah breaks in her horse, Rose, and learns writing from Papa; otherwise, the journey is slow and difficult. In early August, the Prines meet two other wagons, one driven by an irritable couple from back East named Mr. and Mrs. Hoover and the other by a Quaker family, the Lawrences. Papa convinces both to travel to San Angelo, and Sarah enjoys having the Lawrence sisters—Savannah, Ulyssa, Alice, and Louisianna—around. Savannah lends Sarah materials to help with her writing, and Sarah surprises the girls with her hunting skills.