Nebraska: not just a place on a map. It has a heart and it has a voice. It has a Then. It has a Now. Several centuries ago, a young Sioux woman called Lark rebels against her people’s traditions and crosses the plains to save her adopted sister from a bad marriage proposal and return the girl to the Pawnee village from which she was abducted in childhood. At the end of her journey Lark finds herself the center of a mysterious Pawnee ritual that undermines her plan as well as her confidence. In this century, Janet Hinderson runs a small town newspaper and crusades against a proposed meatpacking plant that will destroy the fabric of the town along with its landmark stand of cottonwoods. But Janet’s hard and soft sides must grapple when the meat company’s general counsel comes to town and reveals some cryptic interest in her. These are not two stories. They are connected, told and wound into one—each exploring social issues and themes that are vital and timeless.