In 1948, post-war Saskatchewan is becoming more tolerant of groups such as European immigrants and First Nations people. But there are still pockets of intolerance, especially in small towns such as Nimkus. And, in this particular town, a subtle class system exists where, on the social ladder, a poor farmer occupies the lowest rung.
It is into this den of bigotry that Sarah Roberts arrives from Ontario to marry Ben Fielding. It is here that, all his life, Ben has had to suffer the consequences of being both a poor farmer and a half-breed Native.
An unemployed schoolteacher, disinherited by her mother, Sarah thinks she has found the security and love for which she longs. But the farm to which Ben takes her is not the prosperous operation he has led her to believe. Nor is Ben anything like the man she has come to know and love through his letters. He is morose, distant and full of hate and dark secrets.
Gradually, the dark areas of Ben's past are revealed as Sarah struggles to cope with her disappointment, anger and her own guilt.