Follows the tracks of young Lew Dorset as he searches for his father, from pre-Civil War Virginia to the prairies of the West. Lew battles the Cheyenne, and shelters with the Sioux, absorbing their culture while his friend Chuck Morris marries an Indian woman. When Lew later tries to reconcile Chuck with his abandoned wife and son, he falls into great danger.

"The Indians called the great white wolf the Lightning Warrior because of the swiftness with which he can parry and attack. There is a bounty for the head of the Lightning Warrior, but no one is able to capture him. That is, until the red-haired, blue-eyed giant of a man known only as Cobalt comes to town. Struck by the charm of Sylvia Baird, Cobalt announces his intention to marry her. Sylvia's father disapproves, as does her friend, Tom Chalmers....