A young boy, Agnus O' Red, discovers to his dismay that he has magical powers. He can't control them, can't conjure them when he wants to. They are annoying. What good is making a flower bloom? He was born that way. Different. Agnus is torn by his unwanted gifts and desperate at disappointing his father, a hard working man who views labor as the only redeeming quality in life. Into his tortured world Agnus finds the love of a young girl named Thawn Fine. Living begins to look better. Then his tribe of gentle horse people is attacked by an evil beyond their comprehension, one that brings unimaginable ruin. Against reason, the naive Agnus is elected Shaman, a role he grudgingly accepts because Thawn approves. And love, he thinks, makes everything possible. His clan must move to safety; a pilgrimage begins. Danger stalks them through every snowy turn, over miles of unforgiving terrain, until they can go no further. Now Agnus must find a way to save his people's lives, especially the life of his Thawn, even if it costs him his own."