Roman Eaglewalk knows prophecy and prepares. The world has come full circle and his vision forces his village, Sipayek, to go underground when a mistaken threat leads to nuclear war between China and the United States, bringing about nuclear winter and the end of the era of technology and mutation of life on the planet, including disease.

Roman's visions guide him through an ancestor in the guise of a crow. During the nuclear winter, Roman's unknown son, Jeff Meserve, is trapped with a librarian in a grocery store. Together they conceive a son, and name him Promise. Like his name and his childhood friend, Purity, Promise possesses powers handed down through generations and is the chosen one to lead the United States and the world back from the brink.

In the meantime, the president of the United States, Deleanor Lenning, seeks the help of Eaglewalk and the Indian Nations to defeat the invading Chinese. When the village is attacked while the president is there, even the skill of Podobe, the tribe's guardian, fails and the village takes a long, underground water journey to the Black Hills. In an epic battle between cultures at the Crazy Horse Monument, the promise of a new dawn is realized.