Summary
Amidst the untamed expanse of the Canadian Northwest, an American surveyor, William MacDonald, intrudes upon an Ojibway community, a harbinger of ill-fated modernity. His predatory charm ensnares Annette, a young half-breed woman, whose fiancé, Baptiste, and half-brother, Jules Beaubien, are absent on a vital trapping expedition. MacDonald's fleeting passions, once sated, give way to a barbaric indifference; he abandons Annette, leaving her to face a desolate pregnancy. Consumed by delirium and despair, she succumbs to the unforgiving wilderness, tragically devoured by wolves—a brutal testament to man's cruelty and nature's raw indifference. Upon their return, Jules, fueled by a primal grief and an unyielding demand for justice, persuades Baptiste to join him in a relentless quest for retribution. Their path leads them to the reclusive cabin of Andrew MacTavish, a misanthropic Scotsman whose bitterness, stemming from his wife's departure years prior, poisons his relationship with his daughter, Hilda, whom Jules secretly loves. Coincidentally, MacDonald reappears, weaving a deceitful tale to MacTavish, promising to transport Hilda to Scotland for an education under his mother's care, with the false hope of MacTavish later joining them. Jules, recognizing MacDonald's true villainy after the surveyor's drunken boasts of past conquests, confronts him. A violent skirmish ensues, involving both MacDonald and MacTavish, from which Jules heroically escapes with Hilda in a canoe. The pursuit culminates in a treacherous rapids, where MacDonald's vessel shatters, forcing a final, desperate duel. In this climactic confrontation, Jules exacts his vengeance, dispatching the despoiler and restoring a semblance of order to the fractured frontier.
Synopsis
American surveyor William MacDonald comes to an Ojibway village in the Canadian Northwest. He seduces half-breed girl Annette while her fiancé Baptiste and half-brother Jules Beaubien are away on a trapping expedition. After his work is over, MacDonald spurns Annette and leaves. When she realizes that she is pregnant, Annette wanders delirious into the forest and is devoured by wolves. On returning, Jules persuades Baptiste to let him avenge Annette's death. Jules and Baptiste go to the cabin of Andrew MacTavish, a wretched, self-exiled Scotsman who continually berates his daughter Hilda, whom Jules loves, because her mother left him years earlier. MacDonald arrives and convinces MacTavish that he will take Hilda to his mother in Scotland to educate her, after which they will send for MacTavish. Jules discovers MacDonald's identity when he drunkenly boasts of his previous conquests. Jules fights MacDonald and MacTavish, and escapes with Hilda in a canoe. After MacDonald's pursuing canoe smashes in the rapids, Jules duels with him and kills him.
