The duology takes place in 1858 in California, which at the time was under Mexico’s jurisdiction. A young man named Stone Heart, raised by the leader of a band of robbers—Tiger Cat—tries to find the meaning of his life in friendship, loyalty to his beliefs, and of course love for a girl from a noble Spanish dynasty. The adventures of Stone Heart and his friends unfold against the backdrop of bloody and brutal confrontations between the Mexican government and the warlike Apache Indian tribes.