In the late 1990'a members of the Matcha family gather in a country town near Prague, Czech Republic, for their mothers funeral and wake.There are skeletons in this family's cupboard, even more so as the society's values have been distorted by several decades of a totalitarian system. The narrator of the story is Pepi, one of the sons, a wheelchair bound mute; but Pepi has a sharp mind and is acutely aware of the tensions that tear his family apart. Another son performs a shadowy function in a state ministry, even in the new 'free' society. Another is a chemist with a degree from a Moscow...

Itikani, a young Australian Aborigine boy, has been brought up to become old shaman Makalai's successor. But Itikani transgresses the tribal Laws by allowing affection to develop between him and his stepsister Lamara, a girl of the same 'totemic skin', therefore forbidden to become his mate. Moreover, she has been promised to another, older member of the tribe as soon as she reaches puberty; shaman Makalai has his own lustful designs. When news arrives that 'devils' of immense magical powers have invaded an adjoining tribal land Makalai chooses Itikani to lead a party of warriors to confront...