Adam's father, Esaugetuh,The Master of Breath, has disappeared.

He leaves Adam a list of seven names - people Adam is to track down. With his friend, Running-water, Adam encounters a sensual owner of a lesbian bar, an irascible group of twelve homeless men called The Brother, an over-zealous TV reporter who seems to have just one thing on her mind, and a painter of souls. As he tracks them down, they are murdered. To protect those he loves, he sends them away so he can wage his war against those who want him dead.