On the morning of the summer Solstice, Juan and Sophia Valdez in Center, CO gaze through the hole in the medallion from the Inca Empire at the rising sun. A scene from the past materializes: Indians in snow at the edge of a great forest, staring intently into the trees. Just as the scene disappears they glimpse movement of a great shape back in the trees. They hurry to Great Grandfather for an explanation and he begins the story of their ancestor Lita, who came into possession of the medallion around 1680. Fascinated by stories from seasonal traders about a great water far to the northwest, Lita and her brother Rutu leave the family's secret canyon near Santa Fe on a year's trip to find the water. Attacked by a war party, the medallion saves them from death and they find shelter from the winter with a band of Crow Indians, only to face starving conditions as weather deteriorates. They join a party of Crow hunters to find The Beast and save the band. As Great Grandfather narrates the story over the summer, Juan and Sophia, now in possession of the medallion, face death themselves in a horrific river accident.