The suspect is Linden Lark, an unstable man whose family abandoned his twin sister, Linda Wishkob, at birth due to a deformity. Joe and Bazil weed through a small list of suspects one suspect stands out.

The round house and the nearby lake become recurring places of interest in the narrative as Joe finds more and more clues that piece together parts of what happened to his mother on that fateful day.

Joe’s friends aid him in his desire to catch his mother’s attacker, and when Joe learns that his mother was attacked at the old round house, he sets off with his friends to investigate.

Geraldine attempts to heal but finds herself slipping further into depression, while Joe and Bazil comb through old court cases to try to find a suspect. Will tribal law govern the case, local law enforcement, or the FBI? Geraldine’s rape and subsequent case throws into motion a struggle over legal authority, as well as a struggle over morality as both Joe and Bazil want to bring the perpetrator to justice, but in very different ways. Piecing together what little information they gain in the hospital, Joe comes to understand that jurisdiction plays an important role in the matter. One of the main issues that arises early on is where the heinous crime took place. It is revealed that her attacker had attempted to murder her by setting her on fire. Later, at the hospital, Joe learns that his mother has been raped. This relief is soon eclipsed when it is revealed that Geraldine has been attacked. When Joe and Bazil go into town to find Geraldine, they are relieved to see her drive past them speedily. She had mentioned earlier that she would go to work to retrieve a file, but hours have passed since then. Her absence is noticed even more as it is a Sunday, and the supermarket, where they suspect her to be, is closed. Bazil likens her to a clock that keeps the family running. The men know that Geraldine is the glue that holds their family together. Both Bazil and Joe eventually stop work and realize that Geraldine is missing. One such event is taking place at the same time as the yardwork: the rape and attempted murder of Geraldine Coutts. The young trees are destroying the foundation of the family home, foreshadowing the events to come. The narrative begins in the spring, with a thirteen-year-old Joe and his father, Bazil, uprooting saplings from their yard.

Erdrich louise the round house