Eli and Jay have known one another since they were children. Their life on the Star Belt government reserve in Saskatchewan isn't great, but the people -- like Tantoo, Eli's grandmother, Jay's sisters, and grandmother Buffy -- have always made life tolerable. Until the day Jay kissed Eli only to be rejected, and a moment of misunderstanding drives the two friends apart for years, a misunderstanding that won't come up again until tragedy draws them together once more.