Having reached the age of twelve summers, Dal--a Cro-Magnon boy, looks forward to his manhood initiation. But his father informs him that Dal is being passed over because he isn't ready. Making matters worse, Dal's eleven-year-old friend Cog is accepted into the initiation.Ashamed, Dal flees the cave, falls in a raging river, and embarks upon an adventure that leads him into the Land of the North Caves, where he is injured in a fall. Rescued by a...