On his deathbed, the Great Sun Chief learns a secret, a shame so vile to him that even at the brink of eternity he cannot let it pass: in a village far to the north is a fifteen-summers-old girl who must be found. Though he knows neither her name nor her face, the Great Sun decrees that the girl must at all costs be killed.

Fleeing for her life as her village lies in ruins, young Cornsilk is befriended by Poor Singer, a curious youth seeking to touch the soul of the Katchinas. Together, they undertake the perilous task of staying alive long enough to discover her true identity. But time is running out for them all -- a desperate killer stalks them, one who is willing to destroy the entire Anasazi world to get to her.