This is a coming of age story about Johnny Doan, the son of an army officer stationed in Kansas in 1876. His idol is an old frontiersman, Jed Hardy, who enlists Johnny on one last buffalo hunting trip. It is also a coming of age story about the United States of America as it looks to overcome the Indians of the American plains. A Spanish rancher whose daughter has been kidnapped by Indians demands aid from the army stationed in Kansas at Fort Dodge where Johnny lives and Johnny is privately asked to scout for information when Jed refuses to help the commander of the fort. Johnny's struggle to decide on his future is shaped by his observations while traveling, hunting, and contemplating the morality of the wholesale slaughter of the buffalo.

This the story of how the west was won as seen through the eyes of an American teen-ager who decides what he will stand for as a man. Plenty of entertaining adventure and references to historical figures make this a very enjoyable read.