This book is the classic portrait of the man of moral courage who severs all connections with a society whose values he can no longer accept. Despite his own chosen exile, Hawkeye (Natty Bumppo), the frontier scout, risks his life to escort two sisters through hostile Indian country. On the dangerous journey, he enlists the aid of the Mohican Chingachgook. And in the challenging ordeal that follows, in their encounters with deception, brutality, and the deaths of loved ones, the friendship between the two men deepens—the scout and the Indian, each with a singular philosophy of independence that has been nurtured and shaped by the silent, virgin forest.