It's 1932, and twelve-year-old Cal Black and his pop have been riding the rails for a year after losing their farm in the Great Depression. Cal likes being a "knight of the road" with Pop, even if they're broke. But then Pop has to go to Washington, D.C.--and Cal can't go with him. So Pop tells Cal something he never knew before: He's a Creek Indian, which means Cal is, too. And Pop has decided to send Cal to Challagi Indian School, a government boarding school for Native Americans in Oklahoma. At Challagi, the other Creek boys quickly take Cal under their wing. Even in the harsh, miserable conditions of the school, Cal begins to learn his people's history and heritage, language, and customs. And most of all, he learns how to find strength in a group of friends who have only one another.