After his second trip as a voyageur traveling in the big North canoes from Montreal to Grand Portage, Pierre La Page is going to winter over at the Northwest Company trading post on Lake Vermilion in northern Minnesota. But first he and his brigade must attend the rendezvous in Grand Portage, paddle the 200-mile route, befriend the Ojibwe people at the lake, build shelters for the cold, hard time to come, and put away food to see them through the long winter ahead. Pierre is just 15 years old, but growing up fast in the company of his seasoned brigade members. His friendship with the son of the Ojibwe leader provides him with new perspectives about the wilderness that surrounds him and the people in his life.
