Mari is an Earth Walker, heir to the unique healing powers of her Clan, but she has cast her duties aside until she is chosen by a special animal ally, altering her destiny forever. When a deadly attack tears her world apart, Mari reveals the strength of her powers and the forbidden secret of her dual nature as she embarks on a mission to save her people. It is not until Nik, the son of the leader from a rival, dominating clan strays across her path, that Mari experiences something she has never felt before. Now, evil is coming, and with it, a force more terrible and destructive than the world has ever seen, leaving Mari to cast the shadows from the earth. By forming a tumultuous alliance with Nik, she must make herself ready to save her people, herself and Nik, and ready to embrace her true destiny--and battle the forces that threaten to destroy them all.-- adapted from dust jacket.