When the magic that protects their Valley starts to fail, Tilja and her companions journey into the evil Empire to find the ancient magician Faheel, who originally cast those spells.
In two parallel stories, an intelligent female member of a prehistoric tribe becomes instrumental in advancing the lot of her people, and the daughter of a paleontologist is visiting him on a dig in Africa when important fossil remains are discovered.
Saranja, Maja, and Ribek must outwit the Watchers, twenty-four of the empire's most powerful and evil magicians, while seeking the Ropemaker to restore the ancient magic that will protect their valley.
Mana and the other Kin, a band of people living in prehistoric times, search for food on the edge of a great marsh and fight a new enemy, the dangerous killers whom they name the demon men.
A thirteen-year-old boy escapes from slaughter by the Boxers in China and joins forces with an English botanist and her escort, traveling with them to Tibet, where the power of Buddhist monks transforms the lives of all of them.
While seeking the Ropemaker to restore the ancient magic that will protect their valley, Saranja, Maja, and Ribek must outwit twenty-four of the empire's most powerful and evil magicians.
