This book tells the uncommon story of a missionary family in the Midwestern United States, and their interactions with the indigenous Ojibwe. When Leonard and Harriet Wheeler arrived at La Pointe, Wisconsin in July of 1841, hoping to help the Ojibwe understand and accept the value of Christian civility, they did not expect such a profound transformation of their own lives. The Wheelers' empathy for the Ojibwe not only grew during their twenty-five years of mission work in Northern Wisconsin, much of it spent trying to protect the Ojibwe from predatory whites, it also influenced the lives of their children.

Nancy Bunge, a Professor Emerita at Michigan State University, also served as a Senior Fulbright Lecturer in American Literature and Culture at the University of Vienna, the Free University of Brussels, the University of Ghent, and the University of Siegen.   She was a visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School.