In 1845, three families traverse the Oregon Trail on their way to fertile lands, led by Stephen Meek, a wilderness guide whose supposed expertise might be a tall tale. When they lose their way in barren Indian country, willful Emily Tetherow casts aside the role of servitude she's been forced into as a wife on the trail to challenge Meek's authority. By realizing that the Cayuse Indian the men take captive may be their only salvation, she averts tragedy. Meek's Cutoff is an aesthetic triumph and a vital intervention into our gendered histories of the American West.