It is 1876, and Lt. Thaddeus Coyle is stationed with the U.S. Army at Fort Hartsuff, Nebraska. Driven to oppose his commanding officer on a question of honor, Coyle winds up court-martialed and abandoned by his wife and family. For a time he works the mining camps in the Black Hills, becoming a partner to Tom Merritt, known as Swift Hawk on the reservation. Reconciling with his family, Coyle takes a position with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and is assigned to advise the Indian Agent at the Pine Ridge Agency at Wounded Knee -- where he and Swift Hawk will meet again...