It’s 1838, and two fourteen-year-olds form an unlikely friendship as tensions grow between the Cherokee Nation and white settlers in Tennessee. Callie, a Cherokee girl, and Jameson, the son of a U.S. soldier at nearby Fort Cass, discover they have more in common than they expected. Their bond deepens when they witness a horrible crime. Even worse, the murderous soldier sees them, too.

As they hide from him, soldiers arrive at the Cherokee villages and forcibly remove everyone, sending Callie’s family on the deadly Trail of Tears. She escapes the soldiers, but now alone and hunted, Callie faces the daunting task of finding her family while Jameson struggles to protect her.

Will Callie and Jameson get captured? Can they find courage when faced with things they can't control? What secrets do the vicious John Payne hold? And will Callie ever be reunited with her family?