Handlingen utspelar sig vid 1700-talets mitt då kolonialkriget rasade mellan England och Frankrike.
The Deerslayer tells the story of a young Natty Bumppo, most famously known as `Hawkeye', and his Mohican `brother' Chingachgook, as they attempt to rescue Chingachgook's betrothed, Wah-ta-Wah, from the Hurons. When Bumppo's friends Harry March and Tom Hutter are also captured, Bumppo must go on his first warpath in order to rescue them.Cooper's final addition to his classic Leatherstocking series is one of the earliest novels to be considered truly `American', due in no small part to the novel's protagonist, who embodied the popular American ideals of individualism and liberty.