Once again Jean M. Auel opens the door of a time long past to reveal an
age of wonder and danger at the dawn of the modern human race. With all
the consummate storytelling artistry and vivid authenticity she brought
to The Clan of the Cave Bear and its sequel, The Valley of
Horses, Jean M. Auel continues the breathtaking epic journey of the
woman called Ayla.
Riding Whinney with Jondalar, the man she loves, and followed by the
mare's colt, Ayla ventures into the land of the Mamutoi--the Mammoth
Hunters. She has finally found the Others she has been seeking. Though
Ayla must learn their different customs and language, she is adopted
because of her remarkable hunting ability, singular healing skills, and
uncanny fire-making technique. Bringing back the single pup of a lone
wolf she has killed, Ayla shows the way she tames animals. She finds
women friends and painful memories of the Clan she left behind, and
meets Ranec, the dark-skinned, magnetic master carver of ivory, whom she
cannot refuse--inciting Jondalar to a fierce jealousy that he tries to
control by avoiding her. Unfamiliar with the ways of the Others, Ayla
misunderstands, and thinking Jondalar no longer loves her, she turns
more to Ranec. Throughout the icy winter the tension mounts, but warming
weather will bring the great mammoth hunt and the mating rituals of the
Summer Meeting, when Ayla must choose to remain with Ranec and the
Mamutoi, or to follow Jondalar on a long journey into an unknown future.
