On the eve of World War I, a Navajo reservation is under the control of a corrupt government official named Booker (Noah Beery). Tribal leader Nophaie (Richard Dix) asks Booker's superiors for better treatment of his people, but his pleas are met with indifference from all except kindly white schoolteacher Marian (Lois Wilson), who convinces Nophaie to enlist in the war effort. But Nophaie's optimism is crushed when, after returning from war, he finds conditions for the Navajo are far worse.