Megan Albright, a Phoenix child of the 90s, longs to return to the mountain ranch where she claims that she once lived with her Indian mother. After she tries to run away to reach her mysterious other home, her parents wallow in angst and confusion.
While covering a conference at the Timberline Lodge in the high country, her father, newspaper reporter Stuart Albright, sees a portrait of a striking teen-age girl. Painted by artist and rancher Dawn Clovis, it depicts her daughter, Jani, who has been missing for several years.
Megan, who has been plagued with nightmares about a teen-age girl’s death, views the portrait in the presence of her parents and breaks down. She meets Dawn Clovis, a widowed Apache who married an Anglo rancher, and feels strong filial ties to her.
Megan’s divided loyalties distress her Anglo parents. They resent their daughters bond with the Indian woman and growing desire to live with her.
After a nightmare, Megan relates a horrifying account of Janis kidnapping, rape and murder. Hikers later discover the teenager’s body in a remote mountain area.
Subsequently, Megan is also kidnapped, and her parents fear that she has met a fate similar to Janis. When a mysterious illness strikes Megan’s mother, Laurel Albright, she believes that someone has placed a curse on her, and she suspects Dawn Clovis of doing it.
