Billy Two Moons is an Indian raised in Echo Canyon, Montana, a largely white society. Everyone likes the gregarious young man, but no one wants their daughters to marry an Indian. Seeing two of his closest friends find love with mail-order brides, Billy decides to find his own mail-order bride. He thinks Callie Carlisle is that woman and is excited about her arrival. Then his friend, Lucky Quinn, asks him to accompany him on a quest to the Cheyenne reservation in Oklahoma to retrieve his Cheyenne wife and child. Knowing how important this is to Lucky, Billy agrees to go, trusting his other friends to explain his absence to Callie.Nina is a white woman raised in Indian society after being captured as a child by the Kiowa. At a teenager, she was traded to a Cheyenne man who married and mistreated her. After the death of her husband, she overhears about the meeting with Lucky, she follows the party and begs Lucky and Billy to take her with them to escape the ridicule and anger aimed at her every day. They grant her request and she accompanies them.The trip back to Echo becomes a bizarre adventure with unexpected turns that cause Billy and Nina to become married. Initially, Billy is angry over the situation and feels guilty about letting Callie down. However, he can't fight his growing attraction to his beautiful, young wife, and the two fall in love. Once back in Echo, they face racism and heartbreaking events that threaten their love that burns bright. Can they work together to overcome the adversity they face or is their new found happiness doomed to burn and die?