Pathki Nana never felt she was as good as other young girls in her Kootenai village.

Making her life even harder, her sister, Red Willow, seemed to do everything right. Often Pathki would go off to be by herself. Many people in her village called this eight-year-old, "The Sad One."

When, according to the tribal custom, Pathki's mother instructed her to go into the mountains to seek a personal guardian spirit, no one knew the child's stay there would result in a life-and-death struggle. 

Pathki Nana's story is full of high adventure, Indian lore, survival skills, and a special love a grandmother has for her granddaughter.