The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Erdrich, Louise. The Mighty Red. HarperCollins, 2024.

Louise Erdrich's novel The Mighty Red is set in North Dakota's Red River Valley and traces the lives of the Tabor townspeople. The novel primarily traces the characters' experiences in 2008 and 2009, shortly after the financial crash. The narrative is written from the third-person point of view, in the past tense. It toys with conventional notions of the narrative plot line. For the sake of clarity, the following guide employs the present tense and a linear, streamlined mode of explanation.

Gary Geist buys a ring and picks up his girlfriend Kismet Poe. He drives her out to a far field, planning to propose. Ever since an unspeakable accident that occurred last March, Gary has been haunted by his late friend Jordan's ghost. Being with Kismet is the only thing that makes him feel safe. However, as soon as Kismet sees the ring, she insists that Gary take her home. Gary lunges at her, begging her to be with him, and misinterprets her stifled cries as her acceptance. He then drops Kismet at home and is horrified to discover that she left the ring behind.

Gary asks his best friend Eric what to do about Kismet. Eric suggests that Gary take her out for a fancy dinner, give her flowers, and propose again. Afterward, Eric goes home and gets drunk in his barn while remembering the accident from last year. He cannot escape the event and wishes that his life could go back to normal. Secretly, he blames Gary for what happened.

While Kismet tries to decide what to do about Gary, she continues to see Hugo in secret. Hugo is two years younger and thoroughly in love with Kismet. He insists that after he gets a car and saves some money, Kismet will want to commit to him. Kismet is unsure and ends up accepting Gary's proposal a few weeks later when they are drinking together in Gary's barn.

The night before Kismet's wedding, she and her friends let themselves fall over the bridge and into the Red River while drunk. Kismet's friends climb out, but Kismet lets the current carry her away. She realizes she cannot marry Gary and wonders if she should drown herself. Then the EMTs arrive and rescue her from the water. Back at home, she discovers that her father Martin stole over $1 million from the church renovation fund and fled town. Kismet hugs and comforts her frantic mother Crystal, realizing that she will have to marry Gary to make amends with the town for Martin's crimes.

Gary and Kismet get married. At the reception, Eric gives a drunken toast, alluding to the accident. His friends and football teammates drag him off the stage and out of the reception hall.

Later, Gary drives Kismet to their new house. Gary's oddly aggressive behavior in the bedroom upsets Kismet, and she tries to stand up for herself. Later that night, she waits for Gary to fall asleep before sneaking out to see Hugo.

Over the months prior, Kismet had struggled to adjust to life with Gary and his parents, Winnie and Diz. She does not have cell service on the farm, does not own a car, and feels beholden to Winnie, who demands that Kismet spend her days cooking and cleaning. Meanwhile, Crystal struggles to deal with the fallout of Martin's mistakes. She feels even more powerless when she discovers that Martin mortgaged the house and has been impersonating her to commit bank robberies around the region. She starts to sell his things online in order to pay for legal counsel and get her revenge.

One day, Eric comes over to visit Gary. Gary is not home. So, he spends the afternoon with Kismet and finds himself opening up about the accident. Last March, Eric, Gary, and their football teammates Travis, Jordan, Charley, Knievel, and Harlan got high and drunk and took their snowmobiles out into a blizzard. They were on Gary's property and he was the only one who knew they were racing down a hill toward a barbed-wire fence. He did not warn them. The fence decapitated Jordan and badly injured Charley. Travis went racing straight into the river, where he drowned. Desperate to hide Jordan's fate from his family, Eric dragged his body into the river. The boys kept this secret between them.

A few nights later, Kismet asks Gary about the accident, too. He reveals his side of the story and admits that he needs Kismet to avoid Jordan's ghost.

Not long later, Kismet tells Winnie that she cannot stay with their family anymore. Meanwhile, Crystal has discovered that Martin paid back the church fund and paid off the mortgage. Suddenly unburdened, she devotes her energy to helping Kismet leave Gary.

Over the following years, Kismet attends school and rekindles a relationship with Hugo. They do not get married but end up having a child together.