Like many of Gustave Aimard's action-packed yarns, The Prairie Flower is a study in cultural tension. Young French aristocrat Count Charles Edward de Beaulieu has banished himself from his native Europe, but his self-imposed exile in America is faring poorly, as he feels misunderstood and hopelessly out of place. Soon enough, a crisis breaks the Count out of his doldrums, and he acquits himself admirably when the chips are down.