AndrÉ Marcher and his half-brother Ben Amiel have set out from the East to find the map in an uncle's prairie grave that will lead them to a fabulous gold mine. White River, a son of murdered pioneers brought up by Indians, signs on as their guide (though his heart isn't in it); and Ironfoot meets up with them en route, a Crow chief also searching for a grave, his son's, in the midst of his Sioux enemies. Ironfoot's invitation enables the others to settle among the Crow as honored guests while they continue their quest, and a protracted and much-interrupted search ensues, during which Marcher turns native, earning the respect of Crow warriors and the revulsion of brother Amiel by becoming handy with a hatchet and savage in a fight. Meanwhile, Amiel finds himself increasingly pacifistic and miserable as their situation becomes desperate because of mounting hostilities between the tribes, although the grave is finally found. After a number of forays into dangerous territory, estranged from both his Indian hosts and his white companions, Marcher finds the gold, but the happiness of that discovery is denied him.