In 1756, during the French and Indian War in upper New York state, ten-year-old Edward is determined to protect his home and family with the ancient, and much too heavy, Spanish gun that his father had given him before leaving home to fight the enemy.

Abducted by the Mohawk at fourteen and renamed Burning Sky, Willa Obenchain is driven to return to her family's New York homestead after twelve years of life with the People. But much has changed: Willa's home is in disrepair; her missing parents are rumored to be Tories; and the young man she once admired, twisted by the horrors of the War of Independence, has claimed ownership of their land. When her Mohawk brother arrives and questions her place...

In 1815, while traveling by covered wagon to settle in the wilderness of western New York, eleven-year-old Mem experiences a flood and separation from her family.

In 1817, after her mother has died and her father abandoned his children, thirteen-year-old Mem searches for a new home for Joshua, herself, and their little sister.