"You have told me, once before, that without a friend, even with a bellyful, you would die. I think I have found a friend. That I have become a friend. And for a friend I act." Maraga, a boy on the verge of becoming a young man on the island of Borneo, fights to save his beloved from being married to a cannibal, honor the memory of his father, fulfill a vow he made to a giant snake, and avoid being burned at the stake for breaking taboo. In his adventures he finds a very unlikely friend. An Ancient Grandmother weaves a blanket to save a boy, and her trusted Elvin servant, Zinc, must go on a mystical quest to bring forth the final two threads to complete the healing blanket. An old woman must save her people from the time of cold, and with divine help and listening to her heart, ascends the mountain in quest of fire. Every tree and everything comes with a message from Great Spirit. Willow finds its meaning and reveals it to the Two-Leggeds. No one wants to be a flop, but that is how Trout find its life to be, derided by the other creatures. In Trout's quest for meaning, Great Spirit has quite a surprise for him and the world. Hitting that challenging time of becoming an adolescent, the 13-year-old Persephone falls into a depression. Her father and best friend are dead, and she hates the birthmark on her face. With help from a mysterious stranger, Diane, Percy learns about true beauty, death, and her true nature.