The book explores the concepts of personal strength, honesty, and the American mind. When young Watili is kidnapped by Apache slavers, she enters a world beyond her imaginings, and meets the only man who can take her home: cartographer-map maker Don Bernardo Pacheco y Miera. Setting out on an adventure, each with their own goals and motivators, Watili, Don B, and their companion, the dashing Cibolero, cross the rolling plains and towering plateaus of the West. All find themselves facing the truth of a changing world, and are forced to learn from each other to adapt. Secrets are revealed, truths unveiled, and strife arises as this trio of travelers makes their way not only across the geography of the land, but also the geography of their own private beliefs and viewpoints.