The Crooked Knife

In the fall of 1965 young Leonard White Eagle, a full blood Dakota (woodland Sioux) is endeavoring to return to the ways of the Grandfathers--living off the land and predicating his life on mysticism as well as religious belief and ritual. But his aspirations are seriously threatened when he happens upon a north woods murder scene in which both the forensic evidence and possible motive eventually point to him as the chief suspect. Intuitively and mystically, he surprisingly places his trust in a cynical, hard-drinking middle-age lawyer who has never before tried a murder case. Struggling with loneliness and a sense of failure, Jack Collins agrees to represent White Eagle despite his misgivings and irritations. As the case proceeds amidst official corruption and public racism, each of these men grows spiritually, though in far different ways.