In February of 1851, when Royce Oatman makes the fatal decision to take his pregnant wife and seven children across the Arizona desert alone in his haste to get to California, they are attacked and slaughtered by Tonto Apaches. Two of the children, Olive, fourteen and Mary Ann, eight, are captured and taken to the Apache village where they endure a year of slavery and deprivation. They are purchased by the daughter of the Chief of the Mojaves and taken to the Mojave village where they receive somewhat better treatment but are still slaves. After Mary Ann dies in a famine, Olive, if she is to survive, must assimilate into the Mojave tribe. She witnesses scenes of torture and savagery that disparage any thoughts of escape. When, after five years of captivity, she is suddenly returned to civilization, she must re-learn the ways of white society and never reveal the secrets of her past. Although every attempt is made to portray her as 'the virgin captive, ' rumors persist until, in a dramatic climax, Olive reveals the shocking truth to her husband.

In February of 1851, when Royce Oatman makes the fatal decision to take his pregnant wife and seven children across the Arizona desert alone in his haste to get to California, they are attacked and slaughtered by Tonto Apaches. Two of the children, Olive, fourteen and Mary Ann, eight, are captured and taken to the Apache village where they endure a year of slavery and deprivation. They are purchased by the daughter of the Chief of the Mojaves and taken to the Mojave village where they receive somewhat better treatment but are still slaves. After Mary Ann dies in a famine, Olive, if she is to survive, must assimilate into the Mojave tribe. She witnesses scenes of torture and savagery that disparage any thoughts of escape. When, after five years of captivity, she is suddenly returned to civilization, she must re-learn the ways of white society and never reveal the secrets of her past. Although every attempt is made to portray her as 'the virgin captive, ' rumors persist until, in a dramatic climax, Olive reveals the shocking truth to her husband.