The Ojibwe healer Henry Meloux has had a vision of his death. As he walks the Northwoods in solitude, he tries to prepare himself peacefully for the end of his long life. But peace is destined to elude him as hunters fill the woods seeking a woman named Dolores Morriseau, a stranger who had come to the healer for shelter and the gift of his wisdom. Meloux guides this stranger and his great niece, Cork O'Connor's wife, to safety deep into the Boundary...

A tale set in a stratified world where classes are divided by their members' ability to recall one or two days of memory follows a rare mixed marriage that is shattered by the secrets and murder of the husband's mistress, a situation that is further complicated by the perpetually erased memories of both investigator and suspect.