The book opens with a doctor addressing an unnamed Bishop. The doctor tells the Bishop that one of his ordinands (a candidate for ordination) has no more than three years to live. The Bishop replies that he will delay telling the ordinand, lest he “try too hard” (9) in the time he has left to him. The Bishop further states that the ordinand has much to learn in a short period, so he will send him to his most difficult parish, a First Nations (called “Indian” throughout the book) village named Kingcome in British Columbia. The Bishop explains that it is the place he himself would choose to go if he were young with little time left to live.

Vicar Mark Brian is heading up the coast of British Columbia in a boat helmed by an Indian boy named Jim Wallace. As he observes the landscape, Mark reflects on the advice he received from a retired canon (senior priest) named Caleb who had helped Mark man the boat until they picked up Jim. Caleb had instructed Mark on the operation of the boat as well as the customs of the Indians.