Exiled from his people, a Cheyenne fighter searches for a war. The party of young Cheyenne warriors is returning home from a successful hunt when their leader, Panther Burn, spies a wayward Creek scout. Hungry for the prestige of battle, he chases the Creek into the woods, dragging his fellow warriors straight into an ambush. Two die, and for his impulsiveness, Panther Burn is banished from the tribe. But his legend does not end there. He takes shelter with the Southern Cheyenne, and finds that their attempts at modernization amount to an abandonment of tradition and enslavement to the white man. Over the next decades, the United States will try to herd the Cheyenne into reservations and destroy their way of life, and Panther Burn will become their champion. Although his battle with the Creek ended in disgrace, this warrior will find glory at last.
