News of the world

In the aftermath of the Civil War Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, an aging itinerant news reader, agrees to transport a recently rescued captive of the Kiowa back to her relatives in San Antonio. Four years earlier, a band of Kiowa raiders killed Johanna's parents and sister; sparing the little girl, they raised her as one of their own. Johanna has forgotten the English language, tries to escape at every opportunity, and refuses to act "civilized." Yet as the miles pass, the two lonely survivors begin to trust each other, forming a bond that marks the difference between life and death in this dangerous land. Arriving in San Antonio, the reunion is neither happy nor welcome as her aunt and uncle, whom she does not remember, regard her as an unwanted burden. A respectable man, Captain Kidd is faced with a terrible choice: abandon the girl to her fate or become--in the eyes of the law--a kidnapper himself.