It's the year 1825 in the untamed vastness of the American frontier. Richard Hamilton, a Harvard philosophy student, arrives in St. Louis on business. Stripped of his possessions and left bruised, he seeks refuge on the Maria, a sturdy keelboat destined for the Upper Yellowstone River, helmed by a seasoned fur trader. Thus begins Richard's voyage into the heart of the wild, a journey that will challenge him beyond his wildest dreams. Simultaneously, a Pawnee warrior named Packrat ensnares Heals Like a Willow, a spirited Shoshone medicine woman. But spiritual slaves possess an uncanny resilience, a will to resist. And in the raw, unforgiving wilderness, the hunter and the hunted lock in a desperate struggle for survival. As the Maria penetrates further into the untouched territory, the lives of Richard and Willow converge. Both are seekers--of knowledge and of spirit--yet divided by time and destiny. When their paths intersect, an improbable love emerges, spawning consequences both palpable and hidden.