The Sacred Hill rises above the land, drawing men to it like a beacon. But the men who come each have their own reason, their own dreams. Zeno Bond is a settler whose dreams are of the land and an empire he might build. Steamship Captain Mat McDonald is sent to head off the looming war between the Spanish and the Americans. And Walker, the Cherokee warrior who is called to the Sacred Hill, hundreds of miles from his tribe's home, by a vision he cannot deny--a vision of life, death and destiny.