When the English first settled Jamestown, Virginia, they were unprepared to deal with the Native American tribe that lived nearby. Captain John Smith, however, made a real effort to communicate. He learned the language well enough, and was befriended by Pocahontas. She was the young woman who visited Jamestown on a daily basis, and turned cartwheels there to entertain. Unfortunately, a political crisis developed among the Natives, which involved Smith and Pocahontas in ways they never expected. The novel tells how this crisis was resolved, and what became of Pocahontas and Captain Smith as a result.