Scout Seamus Donegan is not under the command of Col. Nelson A. Miles, who must lead his war-weary troops up the Tongue River into butte country. There, amidst the snow-covered bluffs, awaits Crazy Horse with a thousand-strong force of Lakota braves. They are ready to engage Col. Miles and the Fifth U.S. Infantry, in the last battle Crazy Horse will ever fight against the white man's army.