Each Sunday morning when Tom sets off for the Indain Reservation to visit his great-grandfather, he knows that it will cause friction at home. Tom's non-Indian mother is not sympathetic to his Indian heritage, and his father has also turned his back on the Indian way of life. Finding himself at odds with them both and with his schoolfellows, Tom turns increasingly to his great-grandfather to decide where his future lies. But for SamuelLighfoot to help the boy, Tom must first procure the Indian "Ghost Bundle" from the local museum and then take part in the age-old custom of the Indian "sweat". Unforseen events follow, and Tom becomes involved in a crime which he needs both courage and resilience to survive.