When Shannon Ki-he-kah-zhe,an 18-year old high school senior and aspiring writer, who lives humbly on a reservation with her alcoholic father, emotionally vacant mother and rebellious little sister receives a scholarship to Dartmouth, she takes the challenge, and goes to pursue her dream of preserving Native American mythology. Without Shannon, her family finds themselves in emotional disarray. While Shannon has to learn to live in a world completely alien to her own, and discover her gifts as a writer, her sister gets into serious legal trouble and lands on Shannon's doorstep. Shannon must choose between helping to save the whole Native literature department threatened by budget cuts, or to save her sister.