A frontier-set coming-of-age tale follows David Morris, son of a pioneer trader, as he befriends a young surveyor, assists in land surveys, and takes part in frontier events that escalate into armed conflict between English and French forces. Returning west, he works at a trading post that is attacked, joins Virginia rangers, experiences the retreat to Fort Necessity, witnesses Braddock's defeated expedition, and endures fighting in forested wilderness before reuniting with his family. The narrative mixes adventure, historical events, and descriptions of frontier life and surveying expeditions.