In the 1930s, young Englishman Archibald Belaney emigrates to Canada, and decides to live as a Native American named Grey Owl. While travelling as a trapper he meets Pony, a young Mohawk woman who is immediately enamored with Grey Owl. She decides to follow him to the north of Canada, and although he resists her affections he eventually grows fond of her. Pony convinces Grey Owl to give up the cruelty of animal trapping and so he turns his hand to writing in order to make a living. Eventually, Grey Owl becomes a famous nature writer and conservationist, widely popular on the international lecture circuit. It is not until his death in 1938 that his true nationality, and his double-identity are exposed.