"What happens when your god goes missing? The lord god of Cahokia has been spirited away to the Underworld and the empire teeters on the brink of disaster as clans fight for control. Night Shadow Star, the god's human sister, and Fire Cat, her warrior bodyguard, are the only two people who can bring him back. They descend into the Sacred Cave where monsters dwell, willing to sacrifice themselves to save their kingdom. What they find makes them question...

Cahokia recovers from a year of chaos following a near civil war and the god incarnate, Morning Star, has declared that his human sister, Night Shadow Star, and her slave Fire Cat must make a dangerous journey to far-off Cofitachequi. For an old threat has arisen on the other side of the great eastern mountains: their brother, Walking Smoke, a madman who is convinced that he is the true deity destined to rule Cahokia.