<p>In 1828, Shawn ?Skip? Sullivan is somewhere around fourteen years old when the Indians attack his family?s homestead and kill both his mother and father. Warned by the barking dogs, Skip?s mother forced him to hide in the cabin?s false floor. Though Skip is unharmed, his journey is just beginning.</p> <p>After burying his parents, Skip knows he can?t stay at the cabin alone forever. He remembers that there?s a small settlement with a trading post about thirty miles away, but he hasn?t been there since he was seven years old. With just a small backpack filled with the items the Indians didn?t scavenge, Skips sets off for the nearest civilization.</p> <p>He soon finds himself alone and lost in the mountains?until he meets an old trapper called Big Jim, who teaches him how to survive. Together, the two navigate the wilderness while fending off attackers both human and beast. Skip comes of an age while learning tough lessons about the world and the nature around him.</p>