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Ancient legends, mythological creatures, and spirit helpers swirl around Duncan as the teen discovers his life's work as a carver and finds his way through a thicket of unearthly encounters as deep and mysterious as the Northwest rainforest where the novel's action takes place. As the Quileute people transition from traditional lifeways into a modern world of outboard motors, grocery stores, and working for wages, young Duncan grows up with his Quileute Indian relations and with the spirit powers that inhabit tribal territory. The story follows Duncan as he navigates between the modern world and the world of the supernatural.
Duncan is apprenticed to Howeto, a masterful but malevolent wood carver who has stolen the soul of the ancestral "Old Carver." Howeto will stop at nothing in his quest for power. As his own carving skill matures, Duncan vows to release the ancestor's captive spirit, but only if he can survive Howeto's deadly manipulations. A photograph of murky figures carved on the wall of an ancient t?o´k?ali longhouse are brought back to life in a newly built longhouse, intended to entertain tourists. Awakening the spirit of t?o´k?ali, the secret Wolf Dance Society, has awakened much more than contemporary replication of traditional Quileute lifeways. Without Howeto's permission, and following his own vision, Duncan recreates a carved wall panel. The wolf, the whale, and the flicker on the panel have awakened the songs, dances, and vision that once guided traditional Quileute society. Will Duncan's sincere desire to use his gift and become a carver in the old way be overshadowed by Howeto's greed and jealousy? How will the t?o´k?ali return?
