Pardon the cliche; but here's the long story short - Josiah loses parents in avalanche. Magda, Galandell's sage and conscience, adopts him. He gets apprenticed to an unscrupulous, real son-of-a-biscuit, carpenter in Westeron. He finds his soul mate, Arel (who owns a brothel). He is accused wrongly and circumstances beyond his control force him to leave Westeron. So, he "steals" a horse which he finds out later actually has wings and can fly and he ventures to wherever Elly's Compass guides him. Along the way he meets a blind, and incredibly wise protector, and allows himself the luxury of befriending and helping a family struck by tragedy. When time whispers that it's time for him to move on, he finds himself at one of his many life junctions, and of course as all rightful seekers do, he accepts the challenge. Wisdom in the guise of an ancient traveler leaves him more than just an experience, She provides a PB, which becomes part of Josiah's identity. Now that I've caught you up, let's see what other wonderful "trouble" Elly can conjure up for our lover of life and true student of life's daily classroom. In The Long Road Back, Book Two of Josiah's Journey, our young traveller will come face to face with his destiny. A mountain lion, and a very precocious, wise beyond her years, little girl will fill a few of the voids in his life as he seeks to return to his soul's completion."