Rushing Wind, a prehistoric warrior, is strong and skilled in every accomplishment the Indian prizes except archery. He grieves because he cannot compete with the other young braves in forwarding the winged shaft, for this one weakness makes him the laughing stock in his village. Break of Day, who loves him devotedly, persuades him to invoke the aid of the Medicine Man, her father, to eliminate his one weakness. The magician gives Rushing Wind a charmed arrow that never misses its mark, but which will, if lost, bring misfortune. Having made the conquest complete through this medium, Rushing Wind takes the maiden to wife. In time, he grows suspicious, observing her embroidering, in secret, an elaborate leathern shirt. She intends to surprise her husband with this gift, but he misconstrues the secrecy, believing she has a lover. One day as she is drifting alone in her canoe, he shoots her with the charmed arrow. The little boat hearing the body of Break of Day, pierced by the arrow, floats down the river to the sea and is cast on the shore. Returning to his wigwam, Rushing Wind finds the shirt, and observing it closely, sees that it is embroidered with his own totem. Then great grief strikes him for her fidelity and he sets out to find the body of his lost one. He dies in the quest, but his soul goes on, continues the search through the centuries. This is characterized by a series of remarkable dissolves showing the building of a mission, the immigrant train, and then the view of a modern city. In later life, the reincarnated Rushing Wind finds the modern Break of Day alone upon the beach where the canoe was cast up by the sea. She picks up from the sands the charmed arrow of the lost centuries and thus the pair are reunited.