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.