It all started when Tom Selby, ex-trapper, stopped to investigate the disturbance in Bear Nose's usually peaceful Cheyenne village. When Tom, who was on his way to Fort Butler to sell his furs and take up ranching, found the Cheyennes in the midst of a war dance with Araphoes and Oglalas, he suspected that trouble was brewing. And when a trio of Kiowas galloped into the circle of firelight carrying a captive white woman, he was sure of it....