Kate Mackenzie, daughter of a Native Canadian woman and a wealthy Scotsman, struggles to recover from early loss and abuse from her alcoholic mother who, in her own childhood, was forced to endure the torments of an Indian residential school. Taken in by her wise Native grandmother, Kate renews her love for the Canadian wilderness and the spiritual practices of her ancestors. Through her own initiative, she becomes an investigative journalist working undercover on a huge child and drug trafficking operation. Her life is in constant danger as she is pursued by an assassin. An irresistible attraction to a Cree medicine man threatens to break through her solitude. As he helps her to heal, Kate comes to understand why she has chosen a life full of danger devoid of intimacy, and finds her way to forgiveness and hope.