Laughing Rain's parents are both killed while traveling west in a wagon train. An orphaned toddler, she is adopted by a Cherokee tribe and grows up knowing only She Bear as her mother. She has gifts even she doesn't understand and because of them is shunned by others. Red Cloud, the tribal Shaman, recognizes her extraordinary gifts and takes her under his wing. Ignoring tribal custom and unbeknownst to both the child and the tribe, he teaches her about healing herbs and how to use her gifts... guiding and grooming her to taken his place. It is an endeavor made even more difficult because not only is she a woman, she is not of Cherokee blood. She is required to go on a vision quest... a thing unheard of for women... and has a vision of who she is, where she comes from and what she is to do. Laughing Rain must prove to the tribe she is worthy to be accepted as their Shaman. How? What does that mean for her?
