Young Makow and his grandfather journey by canoe to their Odawa ancestral home where Makow will make his vision quest and where they will also be free from the threat of war at Fort Detroit. But along the way Makow's grandfather reveals stories of the family's past and what will be expected of the boy as he becomes a man. In his rage, Makow leaves his grandfather to join another uprising against the British at Fort Michilimackinac