In this series of interlocking stories that spreads out like a detailed painting, modern Americans, including a NASA scientist and a forest ranger, mingle with the last of a tribe of Native American peoples - the Tukudika, also called Sheepeaters. This results in a peaceful, cultural exchange in which the Tukudika spell out their opposition to the technologically-advanced world of the White Man, while illuminating the old ways of their ancestors.