Dakota Dream

Jacob Redfoot, a white man raised by and devoted to the Dakota Indians, has a mission: he must sign up with General George Armstrong Custer's troops at Fort Lincoln and spy on them. Jacob's cover is nearly blown even before his work begins when he saves Custer's niece, Dominique DuBois, from drowning: did she see his face well enough to identify him? When Jacob does enlist, Dominique notices the handsome private but avoids the obvious conclusion about his resemblance to her Indian rescuer until, during an afternoon ride, Jacob inadvertently refers to the incident. Dominique realizes he's the ``miserable heathen'' who saved her life, so Jacob, to protect his mission, must abduct and hide her at the Dakota camp. As Dominique endures the harsh Indian life and the cruelty of the Indian women, Jacob's efforts turn from spying to trying to prevent Custer's disastrous last stand and, of course, to winning Dominique's affection. MacIver's first novel is an unexceptional romantic exploitation of the general's historic defeat. (Jan.)