Little Running Deer and his Medicine Hat horse are united as the story begins with the birth of the foal. Little Running Deer is ten years old and has been promised this foal at a gift. Problems arise as the Lakota Sioux tribe face the difficulties of living on a reservation c. 1900. As the boy and horse grow together a bond develops between them. Difficult decisions must be made for boy and horse to remain together during this historic period in Lakota history.