BIRTHRIGHT  is the powerful story of a traditional American family driven ever westward by changing climates and economic conditions until they finally are faced with the loss of their farm and, more importantly, the loss of the way of life they had followed for countless generations. All this comes crashing down on Harry Isaacson, the heir to the farm, on the morning of the auction. As he makes his final rounds of the old place he recalls his own life, that of his parents and his grandparents, and he gropes for an answer that will allow him to continue farming and pass the knowledge on to his own children. He must not break the chain of life on the land. Harry's Native American wife, Judith, is gone with the children, moved to the city to survive. Harry  remembers his grandfather's wisdom and the teachings of Long Joe, a Native elder and relative of Judith, and he tries to steady himself, to face his bleak prospects with courage and grace. The story is resolved in a breathtaking ending full of twists and surprises.