Snub is a young female gorilla, somewhat jealous because her mother is occupied with a new baby and curious of the world around her-- a world that is being reshaped by shaking ground and mountains that bleed fire, and most terrifyingly by a new form of predator that walks on two legs. When her mother is killed, Snub finds herself in charge of her baby brother-- and accompanied by one of the not-gorillas, a very young female who has been orphaned by the violence of her own kind.