Cruelly cast out by the ancient Clan that adopted her as a child, Ayla now travels alone in a land of glacial cold and terrifying beasts. She is searching for the Others, a race as tall, blond, and blue-eyed as she. But Ayla finds only a hidden valley, where a herd of hardy steppe horses roams. Here, she is granted a unique kinship with animals, enabling her to learn the secrets of fire and raw survival -- but still, her need for human companionship and love remains unfulfilled. then fate brings her a stranger, handsome Jondolar, and Ayla is torn between fear and hope -- and carried to an awakening of desire that would shape the future of mankind.