Joe Coutts is a Chippewa boy living on the Little No Horse Reservation in North Dakota. Born in 1975, Joe was only thirteen when his mother, Geraldine, was raped in the summer of 1988, an event which catalyses Joe’s investigation into his mother’s attacker, Linden Lark. Eventually, Joe avenges his mother by killing Linden, helped by his friend Cappy.

Though finding his mother’s attacker occupies most of his mind, Joe and his friends, Cappy, Angus, and Zack go out on their bikes, secretly drinking beer and swimming in the lake. One day, Joe finds the money that Curtis Yeltow had given to Mayla to keep quite about their child; the money that Linden wants.

Joe also has an immense crush on his aunt-in-law, Sonja (especially her breasts), who is married to his uncle Whitey. At one point in the summer of 1988, Joe stays at his uncle’s place and takes on a small job at the gas station, only to run away again once Whitey and Sonja’s relationship turns violent in his presence.

Years later, Joe finds it hard to cope with his act of revenge on Linden Lark which might indirectly also have caused Cappy’s death.