Charley Scrimshaw was born to a family to whom their Indian heritage had been all but forgotten. When Charley applied to the Portland Police Bureau, he dropped the last half of his name and simply went by the name of Charley Shaw. Following a violent automobile accident, Charley is retired and once again takes his full name, Scrimshaw, and attempts to reclaim his family's forgotten roots. Charley struggles with his new-found identity as an American Indian and suffers from a bi-polar disorder supposedly linked to the car wreck. When the mayor's wife is murdered, Charley Scrimshaw is called in to help solve the crime. His duties are complicated by a recurring vision of an ancient Sioux Indian warrior from long ago. Little does Charley Scrimshaw suspect that the ancient Indian warrior holds the key to solving the crime.