Charlie, a former employee of the Hudson Bay Company, operates a stopping place on the Bonnechere River providing accommodation for guests, mostly lumbermen.  His mother is of Nehiyawak (Cree) heritage and Charlie has close ties with the local Anishinaabe (Algonquin) population who help him clear land and trade fur.  He struggles to secure reliable sources of food for his guests and medicines for the local population.  Winter weather adds to his worries as horses fall through the ice and timber rafts crash upon the rocky shores.