As the fur trade era is ending, lifelong frontiersman TomFitzpatrick is forced to adapt. He breaks away from themountains to join his friend and legendary mountain manJedediah Smith, who is now trading goods along the Santa FeTrail. After weeks on the trail, their wagon train runsdangerously low on water, and Smith disappears after settingout to find a new water source. Though a desperate search turnsup no sign of Smith, Fitzpatrick stumbles upon an orphanedArapaho boy whom he takes under his wing and names "Friday."When the caravan finally makes it to Santa Fe, Fitzpatricklearns that Smith has been killed by Comanche warriors, endingone of the most remarkable lives of the frontierage. Afterward, Fitzpatrick informally adopts Friday,sending him to receive a formal education in St. Louis, andeventually locates and reunites him with his Arapaho family.Years later, while Fitzpatrick is guiding settlers along theremote trails of the West, he again encounters his adoptedson.
