In the desolate Aleutian Islands, two women, Kiin and Kukutux, confront tragedies that threaten their very survival, while Samiq, leader of the First Men, must face the cruel challenge of leading those whom the spirits have abandoned. Having lost her husband, Kiin must depart the camp of the First Men and journey with her husband's enemy back to the village of the Walrus People from which she has only recently fled. Behind her she leaves one of her twin sons and her soulmate, Samiq. Kukutux watches as the village's hunters return once again without food, the body of her husband strapped across their boats. And, alone, she faces both starvation and the hostility of the clan.
