A sprawling story confronting social, historical, and racial tensions, this novel is set against the backdrop of the Trail of Tears, when President Andrew Jackson evicted the Cherokee people from their ancestral lands. The narrative follows several generations of one Native American family in their quests for wealth, love, power, and dignity, lending insight into their civilization's world view and religious outlook. Embedded in the roots of mythology and the sacred history of a fascinating culture, this account illustrates the intense love-hate relationship between two peoples that was ultimately to end in the destruction of the Cherokee way of life.