The main character, fourteen-year-old Marie Lazarre, narrates the tale of her near transformation to Catholicism and sainthood fifty years after the event. Resisting her Native-American ancestry, Marie considers her skin "white" and seeks to escape her seemingly ill-fated life on the reservation through inclusion in the Sacred Heart Convent. In classes taught Old Testament style by Sister Leopolda, who later sponsors Marie at the convent, the nun recognizes Marie's desire for acceptance. She names her propensity for daydreaming as the work of the "Dark One," thus inspiring Marie to accept her (and Christ's) teachings.

In her efforts to reject the familiar, Marie begins to see her heritage as inherently tainted. Her layering of Native-American tradition with evil impels her to purge herself of both to achieve sainthood. As a result, Sister Leopolda acts as both mentor and enemy for Marie, and the young girl continues to struggle between...