After the death of his American father, Ola Achukma finds himself leaving home with his Chahta mother, forced along by soldiers on a cold, unforgiving march west with little food, sparse clothing, and thin blankets. Everyone says that it's for the best, that things will be better once they get to wherever they're supposed to go, but it's small comfort when he watches the people around him collapse and die.

Born and raised in Aktiya Waya, Nendawagan and her people live a life of plenty and prosperity, with powerful and eloquent sorceries seeing to most every need. Her father, Yvgidahi, is the skiagvsta, meaning she also has an in on the politics. One might expect that living so richly means the many peoples of Aktiya Waya get along in peace and harmony, but this is far from the truth as wave after wave of refugees from the Old Land bring hate and despair as readily as women and children.

A chance encounter on the Trail will set in motion a chain of events that go beyond the Old Land, Aktiya Waya, even all of Earth and Hlohi.