Tracing the experiences of John Grayeagle, a young Osage who is the story's main character, Red Corn describes the Osage experience of the 1920s from the perspective of a traditional Osage. Recent books about that period focus on the greed of government officials and businessmen who murdered Osages to increase their personal wealth. Drawing on his own experiences as an Osage, Red Corn focuses on the character and culture of the Osage people in dealing not only with theft and murder for profit but with the challenges of a wealthy tribal people adjusting to the lure of the Roaring Twenties.