Through the life of Guyasuta, one of the period's most influential figures, the book traces how American Indians were affected by the wars leading to American Independence.

The hunter : British posturing in the Ohio country, 1753 -- Victory on the Monongahela : Braddock's defeat, July 1755 -- Uncertain alliances : the Seven Years' War, 1756-1763 -- Fire on the frontier : the Indian insurgency of 1763 -- Dream of his fathers : postwar diplomacy in British North America -- Unwavering commitment : dual alliances in an age of unrest -- The cause of the crown : the siege of Fort Stanwix and the Battle of Oriskany, August 1777 -- The cause of his people : the Sullivan-Clinton and Broadhead expeditions and the burning of Hanna's Town, fall 1779 -- He wonders at his own shadow : the United States of America and the Northwest Indian War, 1793.