A lost and frightened horse plods down the National Mall, startling the crowd. When Gabriel Du Pr© spots the confused animal, the connection is immediate, for neither of these creatures belongs in the sweltering heat of a DC summer. Du Pr©, a M©tis Indian from the wilds of Montana, calms the horse and leads it to the nearest policeman. Du Pr© is in Washington to play his people€s music for a Smithsonian festival, but after leading the horse to safety, he encounters a murder instead.

 

The dead woman is Cree Indian, come down from Canada to sing in the festival. Du Pr© tries to put her death out of his mind and returns to Montana, but more killings follow: each time with a primitive weapon, each time foretold by a local shaman. As the body count rises and the killer closes on Du Pr©, the lawman vows to never again make the mistake of leaving Montana.