As weary settlers begin to infiltrate the Kansas area, a young family of pilgrims settles on a lower stretch of the Cimarron River. Elizabeth O'Day and her husband, Tom, virtually alone in the wilderness, have been told that the area is safe for whites. However, they soon discover a band of Kiowa Indians, their mood uncertain, living nearly across the river from where they plan to build a home. An uneasy peace endures between the people on each side of the river, and the two groups manage a sort of wary interaction. Until the War Between the States erupts nearly simultaneously with the long-standing conflict between Comanche and Kiowa and the winds of bloody war sweep across the Cimarron land from every direction.