The Sioux who still hold fast to the ghost dance religion are a minority. Only the followers of Sitting Bull at Standing Rock and those of Big Foot still adhered to the ghost dance religion. Coyle hopes that, if the military and civilian authorities keep up the pressure, the movement could be worn down and dissipated. But both Coyle and Merritt are wrong, and Wounded Knee erupts into a national tragedy that is also a personal one for Coyle. Tim Champlin once more demonstrates his skill at blending fiction and history by placing Wounded Knee in a historical context that illustrates the desperation of the reservation Sioux as a blistering drought forces the Indians to slaughter their cattle and eat their seed grain.
Starvation threatens and the ghost dance signals hope for the desperate.
Characterization of Coyle and Merritt is superb and Champlin creates both a mood and sense of place that sets the stage for the final disaster of federal Indian policy.