Guided by the displaced Huron warrior Magua, four people — Major Duncan Heyward, Psalmodist David Gamut, and Alice and Cora Munro — strike through the wilderness forest for Fort William Henry, which is besieged by the French near Lake George. Led astray by Magua, they encounter the white woodsman Hawkeye and his two Mohican companions, Chingachgook and Uncas, whereupon the villainous Huron escapes.
Traveling to the safety of the caves at Glenn's Falls, the party is attacked by Indians early the next morning. Running out of munitions, the three woodsmen escape downriver for help, but the others are captured and taken away by a splinter group of warriors headed by Magua. After a long journey, the Huron coldly proposes to Cora, whose refusal brings an attack upon the captives, who are saved by the sudden arrival of the three woodsmen. All the Indians are killed except Magua, who gets away again.
Leading the party of protagonists through narrow escapes from Indians and then besieging Frenchmen, Hawkeye brings them to a mountainside vantage point overlooking the fort. During the trip, a quiet interest develops between the young Uncas and the brunette Cora, while Heyward shows a deference toward Alice. With difficulty finding their way through the heavy morning mists and the omnipresent French, the seven, hotly pursued, finally reach the fort, where Commander Munro recognizes the voice of his daughter Alice and opens a sally-port for them. Heyward leads a repulse of the pursuing Frenchmen.
