Bernardo Cuesta, a Franciscan monk, is assigned to the mission of San Jose, deep in the wilderness of New Spain. Bernardo finds contentment working with the Christianized Indians. However, his simplistic interpretation of Church Doctrine quickly alienates his pastor and earns the enmity of Ensign Alonso Payeras. Bernardo begins to question his own suitability for missionary work when he is temporarily transferred to a lonely mission outpost.

Crossing the desert prairie his small party is ambushed by the dreaded Apaches. His companions are killed, but Bernardo is taken captive. The savages, uncertain about Bernardo's "power" as a religious person, decide to keep him captive rather than kill him. The hard, oppressive life of slavery destroys his fragile faith, and Bernardo becomes a man without hope.

The years pass in an endless stream of dreary days as Bernardo learns to endure the simple life-style of the Apaches. He has become reconciled to his fate until he is mauled and nearly killed by a mountain lion. The searing fever of near death resurrects Bernardo's faith. He is once more a man of God, consumed with a desire to return to his own people.

However, in the desert Alonso Payeras waits to kill him. Will Bernardo's rekindled faith endure the test when he faces Payeras and must decide whether he can kill to save his own life?

This is the story of a simple man who loses his faith, then finds it deeper and stronger than ever. It is also the story of the confrontation between Christianity and the Apaches.

"The faith and humanity of one man can change people - a beautiful story."