Elusive hints in the papers of her great-grandfather, descendant of a sea captin, draw Marianne to a secluded village on the west coast of Vancouver Island and into an unexpected quest. As she explores the mystery of her connection to this place, the haunting presence of another woman emerges: Kahammis, who was born and died in the village generations before. Swept up and down the coast by forces of passion and war, Kahammis lived out the final years of a once-powerful civiliztion as her people gave way to the fur traders, the voyageurs and the colonists. The beauty and order of that centuries-old society are linked through the old mariner with Marianne's hidden heritage. This is a story rich with respect for a splendid past, set among the heirs of that anicent culture.