Nicatie Shanahan lives in Floyd County, Kentucky. The year is 1836. She is betrothed to Tom McClure. When he betrays her by marrying her cousin, she tries to heal by moving into the cave on her family's farm. She has always known that she has Indian ancestry, but believes she will never have proof. And then she goes to Virginia. By the time she returns, her life has changed in ways she never could have imagined.