People of the Thunder — Kathleen O'Neal Gear; W. Michael Gear

By A.D. 1300, the Sky Hand people had crushed and enslaved the Albaamaha people and built their high-walled capital, Split -Sky City, to dominate towns up and down the Black Warrior River. But a violent wind is brewing that may topple the city's mighty walls. Great armies are on the march, and a cunning new leader, Smoke Shield, has risen. He will guide the Sky Hand people to either stunning triumph or bloody doom.

Old White, Trader, and the mystical Two Petals are journeying across the Choctaw lands and straight into the chaos. Old White, the Seeker, must play a delicate game of espionage. For Trader, the slightest indiscretion let alone the temptation of forbidden love could lead to disaster. Two Petals, the Contrary, faces the toughest choice of all: She must betray herself and her friends to Smoke Shield or live forever in the backward grip of madness.