Tipi Morris was a twelve year old girl and part of a wagon train headed west. She was up early and went into a draw, leading her foal, Sundance, to relieve herself and let him graze. While she was hidden from sight, Indians attacked the wagon train and killed everyone including her parents.

After the screams stopped and the Indians rode off, Tipi went to the wagons, and buried her parents. She scavenged everything she could find that was usable for the wagons and the Colt Baby Dragoon pistol and money that was hidden in her parent's wagon.

Armed with the pistol and a fair amount of grit, she started walking north. She found and hid in a cave. She shot an Indian that was pursuing her with her pistol, and left him in the cave to be found by his friends, took his horse and rifle, and rode off.

She comes upon a cabin and some outbuildings. When the owner, mountain man Sidney Barfield, comes home, they form a friendship, and she lives with him in a grandfather/granddaughter relationship.

Together, they build a horse breeding operation, fight Indians, and the elements.