Content Warning: This section refers to domestic abuse, child abuse, emotional manipulation and abuse, sexism and sexist language, anti-gay language, animal death, suicide, and colonial trauma.

The narrator, Tecumseh, describes the Shield, the river that separates the American town of Truth from the reservation of Bright Water in Canada. The Shield connects three of the area’s most visible landmarks: the bridge between Truth and Bright Water, twin stone pillars called “the Horns,” and a dilapidated church. The church was initially built by Methodists for the local tribes and then passed through the hands of many other Christian denominations before falling into disrepair.

Tecumseh, his dog (Solider), and his friend (Lum) are hanging out by the river. Lum has a gun, and the two boys take turns shooting at the bridge to pass the time. Their conversation turns to the prospect of getting summer jobs and to the reappearance of Monroe Swimmer, a famous artist who comes from Bright Water. While the boys talk, a woman in a truck drives out to the Horns. She gets out, performs a short dance, and throws the contents of a suitcase into the river.