In the years after the Civil War, a Jewish family migrates westward, seeking a homestead and the freedom and security denied them in their native Russia. Led by Papa, a great scholar and mystic, and Mama, a pragmatic, loving woman, the family overcomes great hardship in their search for the promise of America-a home to call their own, a life free from oppression.

So begins the tale of young Ariel, a wise, serious and sometimes impulsive boy, determined to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah. Traversing the rugged, lawless American Southwest, Ariel encounters Lozen, the sister of the great Apache warrior chieftain Victorio. Becoming fast friends, Ariel and Lozen learn from one another how both peoples cling tenaciously and lovingly to their traditions and beliefs in the face of incredible challenges, and how the land around them is alive with wonder-and danger.