Summary

In Chapter 1, Charles sits outside smoking while thinking about his estranged daughter Elizabeth. He studies the fog over the river that divides “the Penobscot Nation from the rest of . . . Maine” and decides Elizabeth must know the truth about where she comes from (1). He studies the house where she, her mother Mary, and stepfather Roger live. Mary decided to raise her with Roger so she could be part of the Penobscot tribe. Charles is not Native, but Mary and Roger are. However, Charles grew up on Indian Island until he was 18 because his stepfather Fredrick was Native.

Elizabeth was born in January 1991. At the time, Charles was living in the house he and Fredrick had built in Overtown, the town across the water from Indian Island. After they finished the house, Fredrick “signed the land over to [Charles]” and gave him a regular allowance...