Who or what was Bat Bergeron, a recent widower with two young sons, Frank and Will? To U.S. Marshal Ed Trumball, he was a horse thief. To the other members of the posse, he was innocent. Faced with uncertainty, the marshal banishes Bat from the Citizen Potawatomi Reservation for seven years. Before his banishment, Bat is forced to witness the lynching of two men who were caught with stolen horses. Bat subsequently abandons Frank and Will while fearfully fleeing the Reservation. He is befriended by Roberto Pacheco, a Mexican trail boss working the Chisholm Trail, and Mexico becomes Bat's home during most of his exile. He eventually moves to Kansas where he becomes a farm-hand near Concordia. While in Kansas, Bat goes to visit his sister, Matilda Lewis, only to discover that she is dead. He returns to the Citizen Potawatomi Reservation with his late sister's husband, Wesley. Although Bat reunites with his sons, he is a stranger to them because of his long absence. After going blind, Bat wishes to live with Will, but his son is unable to keep him. Through it all, there is one memory that Bat cannot escape.