Alonqua, a Lenape boy of the early 1800's, an orphan, is sent by Mawenteh, his elderly guardian, on a journey to a sacred waterfall. This is Mawenteh's last request, for that very night he will die. The journey takes Alonqua from the heart of a beaver lodge to the heart of a great storm, from the release of a snared otter to a bond with a mother eagle. And ultimately to an understanding of the White Man who will come to warn his village of impending destruction. Unknown to Alonqua at the beginning, the journey is a vision quest. What he learns on the way is his Spirit Name and the courage to do what is true and right-for himself, for his people, and for the sacred earth.