In May 1865, after the Missouri Boys Obee and Crick burn down half of Idaho City, the residents begrudgingly welcome a group of Chinese gold-hunters into the town, as everyone who lost something needs the money those men will bring in. Young Lily Seaver's shopkeeper father rents some of his property over the road to the Chinese men, and Lily becomes fascinated by their songs and the smell of their cooking. Playing in the woods one day, Lily comes across the Chinese men working on their claim, and witnesses Obee and Crick try to steal from the men at gunpoint. But the oldest of the men, a red-faced man named Lao Guan ('Logan' to the locals) confronts the bandits and fights back. Logan is injured, and Crick is killed. After revealing her presence to the Chinese men, Lily becomes their friend, and watches with interest as Logan's injuries are treated with unfamiliar herbs. Logan teaches Lily how to play Go with seeds, and begins telling her the tale of how a Chinese boy named Chang Sheng became Guan Yu, the God of War. Their happy time together is disrupted when Lily realises the men make some of their meals from dog meat, and later when the Chinese men begin offering a laundry service that takes business away from the local women. But the men make amends by giving the local women fresh vegetables from their gardens, and Lily continues to listen to Logan's stories about Guan Yu, including the tale of his supposed death. As Lily helps the men set up to celebrate Chinese New Year, Logan tells the story of how he came to be in America, and how he got out of the original exploitative work contract he and his friends were roped into. On the night of the festivities, which delight and unite the townsfolk, the Sheriff arrives to arrest Logan, who has been accused of murder by Obee. During the subsequent trial, Lily testifies to what she witnessed. Afterwards, she asks Logan what he will do when he is freed. He tells her he will go home, and she is disappointed until he adds that this place is his home now. Then he tells her one last story of himself / Guan Yu, and it is Lily's story too: the story of how he became an American.