A badly-wounded stranger awakens from a fever to find himself in a cabin being attended to by a mysterious Indian woman. He has no memory of who he is, or how he came to be there. He learns that he is in New France, Quebec and that he was shot in a hunting accident while wandering the nearby woods. Unable to recall his own name he adopts the name Jacob and slowly rebuilds his life amid the religiously conservative society of New France. He becomes fluent in French and learns more about the mysterious indigenous woman who saved his life. He becomes a successful businessman and falls in love. He discovers a hitherto unknown talent for writing and writes a series of fables for his children. At the height of his prosperity, he is forced into bankruptcy and becomes a reluctant participant in New France's struggle for political autonomy. Following a violent mass protest, he is falsely imprisoned on a murder charge. He is now a famous author and considered a heroic martyr for the cause of political independence. Years pass before he is finally set free-embittered and mourning the loss of his beloved wife. A chance encounter brings on a fatal heart attack as a long-buried truth is revealed.