Twelve-year-old Sven Jorgenson is battling feelings of inadequacy while trying to prove himself to his overbearing father. It has been four years since Sven and his family moved to the Minnesota prairie, a "promised land" where wheat grew as high as the cattle. But the grasshoppers put an end to any hope of prosperity, and smallpox had taken his mother. Sven survived but still had the scars that tore at his confidence. With his father preoccupied, he turns to his uncle for comfort and finds companionship with his cousin Nicolai. With Nicolai's encouragement and training, Sven grows physically stronger. And inspired by his mother's faithfulness, his belief in God grows stronger as well. But will Sven's faith be enough to save the harvest? What lies ahead for this prairie community will be unlike anything anyone could ever imagine.