A novel of North America’s Forgotten Past

Twelve summers after the events of The People of the Longhouse and The Dawn Country, the Iroquois nations remain locked in bitter warfare. Atotarho, the cannibal-sorcerer who leads the People of the Hills, schemes to set into motion a cataclysmic battle that threatens to destroy the Iroquoian world. His warriors spread fear and death wherever they go, taking captives and burning villages to the ground.

Only five people are brave enough to challenge Atotarho.  Odion, Wrass, Tutelo, Baji, and Zateri, kidnapped as children and sold into slavery, are now grown, and they have forged a desperate alliance that just might be strong enough to stop the madman.

Odion, now a disgraced warrior known as Dekanawida or Sky Messenger, must convince his people that his visions of a great darkness will mean total destruction for all. His friend Wrass, who has become War Chief Hiyawento, and a powerful clan matron, Jigonsaseh, are his only hope. They must find a way to bring five warring nations together.

Bestselling authors and archaeologists Kathleen O’Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear continue their retelling of the story of the Peacemaker, one of North America’s most beautiful epics. Dekanawida’s message of compassion and spiritual unity is as powerful today as it was six hundred years ago—perhaps even more so.

Young Wrass is still being held captive, along with several other children, in Gannajero's camp. Wrass knows he can't wait to be rescued. He has to organize the children for an assault on Gannajero's warriors.ÿ Even if he dies, someone has to escape, to carry the story back to their Peoples. It's the only way to stop the evil old woman.

But Koracoo and Gonda have not abandoned their search.ÿ They're coming for the children, and they have allies: a battle-weary Mohawk war chief and a Healer from the People of the Dawnland.ÿ Together, they will find the children and destroy Gannajero. But not before many of the children have been sold and carried off to distant villages-and lost to their families and homes forever....