For untold generations the Qeegog have lived quietly in The Grove, a magnificent primeval forest. They appear to be small animals, shy and beautiful. However, the Qeegog are the keepers of a secret knowledge: Through a practice called The Way, they can enter into The Dreaming -- a spiritual communion with the forest and all its beings. The Undaati people once saw the Qeegog as sacred. But the old ways have died. The temples have fallen to ruin and the Undaati have forgotten their history. Now, Undaati hunters come with nets and darts to kill the Qeegog and to harvest their valuable pelts. Kehyo is an Undaati orphan -- a sensitive idealist in a harsh world. When Kehyo learns that his mother is actually alive, he hatches a dangerous plan to leave his village to find her. Ryela is a youngling Qeegog who seeks to understand the human enemy. She must discover why the Undaati have abandoned The Way. Only then can she hope to stop the killing. When Ryela and Kehyo meet, they set off a chain of events that bring a storm of conflict down upon them. Their bold choices and disregard for tradition force them into exile and propel them on a mystical adventure into unknown lands. The journey will take them across a forbidding desert, over mountains, and deep into the lands of those who would destroy both of their peoples.