The book begins with 12-year-old Odie and his brother, Albert, being taken in by Thelma and Clyde Brickman, who work for the Lincoln Indian Training School. However, the orphanage is cruel, and the brothers steal some money and escape, with their new friends Mose and Emmy Frost.
With the money they stole, they discover a letter from Aunt Julia in Saint Louis and decide to head there. However, after falling asleep they are woken to find that they are being kidnapped by a one-eyed man named Jack. Jack forces them to work his orchards and keeps them there until Odie eventually shoots him.
They continue their journey, though Odie is depressed by his act of sin. Along the way, they find Sister Eve, who has special healing powers. Though bewitched by her at first, she is later revealed to be a fraud. As such, they leave for their travels again, where they next stop off at Mankato and meet a young girl, Maybeth Schofield, and her family. Odie grows close to Maybeth, but she eventually leaves, leaving him heartbroken. The others are tired of constantly moving around, so Odie pursues their Aunt on his own. When he finally finds her, he realizes that she is actually their birth mother and they live happily together.
