Champion bull-rider Joe Willie Wolfchild is about to become the All-Round Cowboy when a devastating accident at the National Finals destroys his chances of ever doing rodeo again. His body and ambitions in tatters, he retires to the panoramic family ranch, Wolfcreek, to mend.
Claire Hartley’s series of disastrous relationships leave her battered and inhibited. Her frustrated fifteen-year-old son Aiden finds himself increasingly drawn towards trouble on the streets. When a friend sends Claire and Aiden to the Wolfchild ranch, the Ojibway-Sioux cowboy, the single mother and her son find their lives changed forever.
Aiden and Joe Willie have more than a little in common, including a natural predisposition for the saddle. After a rocky start, they strike a deal: Aiden will help Joe Willie to repair his ’34 Ford V8 pickup if the former champion teaches the city kid how to ride a bull. While Aiden is learning that rodeo demands a cowboy do more than just ride, Joe Willie’s grandmother and Sioux mother teach Claire about the native traditions that sustain them.
In Dream Wheels, Wagamese rewrites the history of the American cowboy. In taut, muscular prose, grounded by a poetic sensibility that opens up the vast landscapes of the west, Wagamese explores the restorative properties of independence, self-determination, and the cultural traditions that connect us to the past.
