Otter Lake is a sleepy Anishnawbe community where little happens. Maggie, the Reserve's chief, has been struggling with her responsibilities in the community and as a mother to her aloof teenage son, Virgil, after the death of her own mother and the loss of their last connection the old ways of life. Then John, a mysterious white man, pulls up astride a 1953 Indian Chief motorcycle and turns Otter Lake upside down. Maggie gets swept away, but Virgil is less than enchanted. Suspicious of the stranger's intentions, Virgil teams up with his uncle Wayne—a master of aboriginal martial arts—to drive the stranger from the Reserve, using tricks that would make the Nanabush proud. And it turns out that the raccoons are willing to lend a hand. An exploration of political, religious, and cultural challenges combined with a lighthearted playfulness, Motorcycles & Sweetgrass is a poignant and charming story.