now that the 12 year old matt and his father have finished a comfortable cabin for their famiy in the maine wilderness,matt's father must leave to bring the rest of the familt to the settlement. until the day that his father returns, matt must try to survuve on his own. matt is brave, but he's not prepared for an attack by swarming bees, and he's astonished when he is rescued by an indian chief and his grandson, attean. as the boys come to know each other, attean learns to speak english, while matt becomes a skilled hunter. many months pass with no sign of matt's family. then attean asks matt to join the the beaver tribe and move north. should matt abandon his hopes of ever seeing his family again and go to a new life?