Summary

The novel begins with Winona, a member of the Lakota tribe. Her given name is Ojinjintka, meaning rose, but it was changed to be easier for English speakers. Her mother, older sister, cousins, and aunts were all killed. She lives with a man named Thomas McNulty in a small town in Tennessee after the Civil War. She and all of the people in the town are quite poor, but she occupies the lowest status in society as an Indian person. Thomas has been watching out for Winona since the beginning of the war. When Winona cries, her father John Cole comforts her.

In Chapter 2, Winona runs into Jas Jonski, the clerk in the dry-goods store in town. Jas has a crush on Winona, but John Cole has not allowed him to court her. Winona wants to marry Jas even despite his reluctance. Other...