Across the Wide Missouri

In the 1830s, Flint Mitchell attends the summer rendezvous in the Rocky Mountains, where fur traders gather, cashing in furs and indulging in drinking games and contests. The festive gathering masks rising tensions as the trapping season confronts the realities of travel and alliance. Flint measures his path forward among rival trappers and potential partners.

Flint organizes a brigading party, buys horses, and recruits fellow trappers to venture into the beaver-rich Blackfoot lands. Brecan, his Scottish friend, protests, warning that the land belongs to the Blackfoot and that the venture could provoke conflict. The plan sets the stage for a fragile crossing of cultures and a race for resources.

Flint outbids Brecan for Kamiah, the granddaughter of Blackfoot medicine man Bear Ghost and adopted daughter of a Nez Perce chief Looking Glass. Kamiah joins the brigade as a guide and unwitting symbol of the fragile ties between tribes. Her presence raises the personal stakes of Flint's expedition.

Pierre, a French Canadian trapper, and Captain Humberstone Lyon, a Scotsman who fought at Waterloo, join Flint on the dangerous expedition. Their presence brings experience but also risk as the party threads through unwelcoming terrain. The mix of characters foreshadows the complex loyalties ahead.

Kamiah successfully guides Flint and his men through high passes filled with crippling snow drifts on their trek to the Blackfoot lands. The group builds a stockade once they reach a defensible position in Blackfoot territory. The journey cements Kamiah's influence over the expedition, while the dangers of the mountains loom.

Ironshirt, a Blackfoot war leader, kills Baptiste DuNord and steals the brigade's horses during a confrontation. Bear Ghost intervenes and ultimately orders the horses returned, branding Ironshirt as a rising threat to Flint's party. The violent encounter foreshadows further tribal conflict over resources.

Flint marries Kamiah for reasons beyond romance, and though he cannot speak her language, he commits to a life with her among unfamiliar cultures. The marriage deepens bonds between the trapper and his in-laws, but also complicates his claims to leadership and safety of the brigade. Their union marks a personal pivot in the expedition's purpose.

Bear Ghost becomes a steadfast ally to Flint, helping to shield the brigade from threats and advising on Blackfoot politics. The peace is shattered when Roy DuNord, seeking vengeance, kills Bear Ghost; Brecan then kills Roy in turn, leaving Flint to grieve. Ironshirt's ascent as rival leader remains a looming threat.

In the wake of Bear Ghost's death, Ironshirt ascends as chief and resumes his campaign to drive white trappers out of Blackfoot country. Flint's alliance with Bear Ghost is undone by political leadership changes, heightening the risks for the brigade. The snowballing conflict pushes Flint toward deeper resistance and survival.

In the spring, Kamiah gives birth to a boy named Chip, signaling a new generation within Flint's world. The birth occurs against the background of ongoing tensions and the fragile truce between tribes. The infant's arrival anchors Flint's hopes for the future.

On the way to the rendezvous, the brigade is attacked by a large war party led by Ironshirt. Kamiah is killed in the assault, and her horse bolts with Chip strapped to its back as the attacker closes in. Flint fights to protect his son amid the chaos.

Flint kills Ironshirt in the melee and manages to rescue his son, who clings to life despite the loss of his mother. The rescue marks a hard-won victory and a turning point for Flint's resolve. He carries Chip forward, determined to give him a future away from the dangers of the mountains.

In the years that follow, Flint takes Chip to live in the Blackfoot camp, where the boy grows up immersed in mountain knowledge rather than formal schooling. Chip persuades his father to delay education to learn the ways of the land and survive. The relationship between father and son shapes Chip's identity as a bridge between cultures.