Mary-Forge, a young white teacher who lives in Navajo territory, is teaching class one day when a helicopter flies over the classroom. This is not a new thing for her, as she knows hunters have come to kill the local eagle population before, something she tells her students. One hunter in particular, named Ira Osmun, has come to do so several times, as he says to his most recent partner, Wilson Drago. Osmun explains to Drago that he hunts the eagles to satisfy the external white population, but is interrupted by Mary-Forge who begins to shoot at the helicopter, which causes him to fly toward the eagle's nest. Sun, the eagle, watches all of this passively, knowing Osmun has come to kill him, and has already killed his mate. Mary-Forge and her students quickly mount horses to pursue Osmun and Drago, while Osmun explains their hunting strategy to Drago. Drago attempts to shoot at Sun, but misses, allowing Mary-Forge and the Navajos to open fire on the helicopter once more. As they pursue Sun, Drago begins to have doubts about the hunt, and decides that it is wrong. Osmun pushes Drago out of the helicopter as a response, killing him. After considering Drago's corpse for a moment, Mary-Forge leads her students up the nearby mountain to gain a better vantage of the helicopter. Once they start shooting at it again, Osmun decides to attack them instead, diving toward them with a machinegun in hand. Sun takes advantage of this lapse in pursuit, as he realizes he has succeeded in drawing Osmun away from his nest. Before Osmun can open fire on Mary-Forge and the Navajos, Sun dives into the helicopter's rotors, sacrificing himself to bring Osmun down. The Navajos and their teacher mourn Sun's death while surrounding the crashed helicopter. Three months later, another eagle, who the Navajos name Star, takes Sun's place.