A young hunter draws his bow against a buffalo cow drinking from a stream. Before he can loose his arrow, there is no buffalo -- instead, there stands a beautiful young woman, whom he knows he must marry.

The hunter's people shun the Buffalo Woman, and so she returns, with their son, Calf Boy, to her people. The hunter's heart compels him to follow. But he has been warned: The Buffalo Nation is angry at the Straight-up-People. And if he cannot find his wife and son among the many buffalo, they will be lost to him forever.