Freedom following the Civil War destruction of the plantation where Isaac Ike Casey was born and raised plunges the young man into a rapidly evolving world of violence and uncertainty. Directionless, he wanders the South in isolation, hunger, and clothing so badly worn he occasionally approaches nakedness. A chance encounter with a short-handed ship's captain provides Ike with a non-paying job aboard a cargo vessel. At journey's end, he finds himself deep in Texas. There, he is approached by a recruiting officer of the Ninth Regiment of Cavalry of the United States Army.

Joining on the promise of three square meals a day, decent clothing, and $13 per month in pay, Ike begins an odyssey that will take him from a lifetime of passive servitude to one of strength and confidence as a member of the fabled Buffalo Soldiers. Through Private--then Corporal--Casey, we witness life in Company D of the Buffalo Cavalry--and the hardship and privation that plagued the black troopers, as well as their burgeoning pride as they face danger across the Texas frontier. They proved their mettle in scores of encounters with bandits and Indians as they escorted stagecoaches and wagon trains to far-flung outposts and protected the ever-expanding fringes of civilization against a savage land.