When Lars, aged 17, heads from Norway to Dakota Territory in America with his little brother in tow, he has no idea that he's about to embark on adventures that people will happily be recounting for generations - not least the story of how he bought his first horse, who turns out to be an oddball scaredy-cat. Sort of. Except when it matters. Then there was the day two ruffians decided to shoot up the town with fireworks and bullets, and Lars had to help rescue the girl of his dreams, who isn't Norwegian in the least. And then there was the bear attack. As the modern day person who narrates these tales explains, if you don't know about the bear, you're missing out on understanding how Lars became American without planning on it.