Soon to be a Major Motion Picture

National Book Award Finalist—Fiction

In the aftermath of the Civil War, an aging itinerant news reader agrees to transport a young captive of the Kiowa back to her people in this exquisitely rendered, morally complex, multilayered novel of historical fiction from the author of Enemy Women that explores the boundaries of family, responsibility, honor, and trust.

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Five years after the Civil War, Captain Kidd moves from town to town as a storyteller. In Texas, he crosses paths with Johanna, a ten-year-old taken in by the Kiowa people six years earlier. She is being returned to her biological aunt and uncle against her will. Kidd agrees to deliver the child where the law says she belongs. As they travel hundreds of miles, the two will face tremendous challenges of both human and natural forces as they search...

"This book reveals how the Kiowa and Comanche people express their deep connection to their traditional lattice cradles. Prevalent from 1870 to 1930, these cradles represented a unique, yet extremely practical, art form. These 'gifts of pride and love' reflected close networks, which remained intact despite the difficult transition to reservation life, new religions, government boarding schools, and allotment of tribal lands. This book, a beautiful...