A victim who knows the system will probably never punish her attacker loses more than her day in court. She may refuse to name him and withdraw from life, because speaking seems to lead nowhere. In the world the book describes, federal prosecutors decline most sexual abuse cases on tribal land, and that despair is built on the numbers.
A violent blow to a family can turn a child into an adult overnight. He takes on caring for one parent and judging the other. Seeing his parents as people who can fail him can matter more to him than the crime.
A boy works out what kind of man to become by watching the men around him. Some abuse women, while others show leadership and self-restraint. Growing up becomes a choice between these competing examples.
When no one can say whether a crime happened on tribal, state, or federal land, or whether the attacker was Native or not, no authority clearly owns the case. The question of who may prosecute replaces the question of who did it, and the attacker can walk free.
When the courts cannot act, the people closest to the victim start to see revenge as the only justice left. A family that respected the law can be pushed into hunting the attacker themselves.