In AD 500, a sophisticated nation called the People controls the fertile Ohio River Valley. After ten years of brutal war against the Allegh, a rival tribe of imposing physical height and martial ferocity, the People are desperate for peace. They wish to return to their peaceful urban life and resume observing the heavens from the complex observatories that crisscross their lands. A truce hangs in a tender balance, and veteran soldier Tianati is sent to Mexico on a peacekeeping mission. Tianati must locate a group of important refugees and inform them of the long-desired ceasefire. He finds himself saddled with two unlikely traveling companions: a giant Allegh warrior and a feisty slave girl.

The unusual threesome learns to respect and trust one another as they traverse hundreds of miles of brutal terrain. In Mexico, they discover that a tyrannical priesthood has subjugated the Allegh refugees. Worse yet, Tianati's own Allegh companion hides a secret that may spell disaster for the People. Tianati must find a way to surmount prejudices and untruths, in the hope of saving the refugees and preserving the People's way of life.