Zagor and Chico arrive at the annual trappers' meeting. But the joy and merriment are soon spoiled by the arrival of the wounded Boston Jack. The Munsee Indians attack the trappers for no apparent reason...
Together with Chico and Trampi, Zagor helps Pickens free his wife, and eventually clashes with the kidnappers, where he meets the titular Mr. Smith, a strange man who is in fact the real reason for all this complication.
The Hidatsa tribe chooses a new chief between two rivals. According to an old tribal custom, rivals compete in a game with seven arrows, but one of them is wounded, so Zagor takes his place.
To help Bat and Bing Batterton in their investigation, Zagor and Chico board the ship Blue Queen, where a mysterious apparition appears. But, apart from the mysterious specter, the ship hides some other dark secrets...