After an abusive relationship ends, anthropology professor Eleanor Grey seeks out a quiet life in academia. She distances herself from life, friends, and love. Then an invitation arrives for the dig of a lifetime at an ancient site under the Sioux heartland. The research means a major breakthrough for her career, but it also means working hand in hand with Michael Burke, her ex-fiancé. Yet Eleanor finds that digging with the team, even under Michael's watch, awakens her own long-buried desire for friendship and love.

Soon she's introduced to village elder Itonagaju, and Eleanor feels an instant attraction to the handsome and enigmatic native man. The exciting and extraordinary always seem to happen when he's around. Deep down, she's sure they've met somewhere before.

But then a grisly murder occurs, and Eleanor is almost the next victim. Desperate, Itonagaju delivers her to fellow Sioux mystics for protection. A ceremony whisks Eleanor to a tumultuous past and the passionate roots of their long-ago love affair. As Eleanor hovers between life and death, Itonagaju fights to gain the power to bring her back as the true love of his life in the present of their dreams.