Ivan Doig-Dancing at the Rascal Fair torrent

The story is that of two 19 year-old Scottish boys, Angus McCaskill and Rob Barclay, who emigrate to the US in the late 19th century. They move to Montana and become homesteaders, deciding to raise sheep for a living. When the price of sheep begins to fall in the market Angus becomes a school teacher. He meets a neighboring teacher, Anna, and falls in love with her, but this is to be an unrequited love.

Angus marries Rob's sister instead, but his unrequited love for Anna drives a rift between himself and Rob. Rob attempts to confront Angus about this problem but his attempt bring great changes to Angus's life: Angus's wife leaves him for a time, and his son becomes estranged from him. Anna, Angus's true love, dies in the Influenza Epidemic, but as the novel comes to a close Angus's son marries Anna's daughter; and Rob drowns in an accident, leaving Angus to write his remembrance of his longtime friend and enemy.