Upper Canada, 1804, on the edge of Chippewa territory. Flora MacCallum wakes from a malarial coma and witnesses the staggering loss her siblings have endured during their first days on the mosquito-infested banks of the Chenail É cartÉ . Lured from the Isle of Mull by Lord Selkirk’ s promise of fertile grazing land and freedom far from the Highland clearances, Flora’ s father staked his life to bring his family across the Atlantic. During the struggling frontier settlement’ s first bleak North American winter, Flora discovers hope through an unlikely friendship. The oldest son of a Chippewa chief offers Flora the gift of his mother tongue, shifting Flora’ s relationship with the land and the truth of her own spirit. But as their furtive fellowship attracts attention, conflicts soon arise…