Lost treasure is the last thing fourteen-year-old River Ereckson expects to hear about when she visits a powwow to explore the traditions of her American Indian ancestors.Yet when a fur-clad stranger says she must recover what's lost, the task soon becomes an unavoidable mission. Her precarious journey takes her into the Spirit world where she confronts the absolute evil of Vega who wants to drop the treasure into the bottomless Well of Sorrow. It's up to River to retrieve what's been lost so everything female in Creation-human, animal, and plant-can become fully empowered. Along the way she finds help from a Mystery man, unusual creatures from the other world, and her own great-grandmothers who have transcended time. Relying on intuition and improvisation, River accomplishes things she never imagined. But will it be enough to defeat her enemies?