Thirty thousand years ago, the preceding ice age in Europe had long submitted to a warming trend. Glaciers receded far to the north, exposing vast fertile lands. There, tall grass spread endlessly across a flat landscape where mammoths, caribou, bison and many other game animals foraged in large numbers. With the ice age long over, Cro-Magnon tribes moved north into the coastal shores and forests of Europe. After generations of hunting to feed an expanding population, the resources were fast becoming depleted. Forests that were once rich in deer, boar, and horses, took longer to make the kills needed to feed the tribes. Blocked from the Neanderthal tribe's heartland by marshes filled with taboo and high mountain ranges, the Cro-Magnon tribe's halted at the natural barriers unable to go any farther. Fiercely aggressive, they are now at war among themselves. Those dangers could easily be left behind, facing the unknown was not. The marshes are filled with taboo and dangers of their own, stopping the advancing tribes at the very edge of the forests. For, here before them are the swamps, evil spirits and fear--fear that comes in the form of whispered tales told at the night fires by those few bold enough to have journeyed beyond the swamps, crossed the mountains to the other side and then stepped out onto the flat land beyond. They told of lion prides and hyenas that hunted in packs so large their numbers could not be counted. These, however, were old tales, spoken of by the elders and happened so long ago; their truths had long fallen into doubt among many. Yet--here, among all these tribes, both large and small, one man chose to make that journey, Horse That Runs Too Fast, tribal chief of the Bandu.

Contains glossaries of characters, tribes, and native languages.