Mary Whitebird is a young Kaw Indian girl who is dreading her upcoming TA-NA-E-KA ceremony at age 11, where boys prove themselves as warriors and girls take their first steps to womanhood. Her cousin Roger also does not want to participate. During training, their grandfather teaches them survival skills like how to eat grasshoppers. Mary gets an idea and borrows $5 from her teacher, planning to use it during the ceremony. On the day of TA-NA-E-KA, Mary and Roger go their separate ways in the woods wearing bathing suits. Mary's plan is to make her way to a marina on the river where she hopes to sleep on a boat, using the $5