The Circle Leads Home tells the story of Katherine, a 32-year-old American Indian whose husband died from a drug overdose two years earlier. Now she finds herself working as a legal secretary to support herself and their sons, ages 9 and 13. She invariably falls for the wrong men, but this time, when she finds herself in an abusive relationship, she feels the need to run.

She takes her family to the reservation she fled some fourteen years prior, only to find that her people's traditional tribal values are being challenged by the moneymaking lure of selling off old-growth timber and operating casinos. Environmental and social concerns thrust Katherine into the heart of reservation politics and force her to make choices. She must face and overcome not only the barriers raised by some segments of society against Indians but also serious emotional blocks of her own making.

As Katherine explores and rediscovers her own sense of self, she cements new alliances and comes to realize - and accept - that she is home.