Free-spirited, vision-seeing 15-year-old Mud Puppy has no interest in power, but when his much-admired older brother, White Bird, is struck by lightning and killed (an event that Mud Puppy foresaw), he is next in line to be the Speaker for the Owl Clan. Christened Salamander at an immediate initiation-to-manhood ceremony, he sets out to defend and honor his family, always aware of the warring spirits Masked Owl (good) and Many Colored Crow (evil) who guide his path. Uncertainty, clumsiness and a reputation as an idiot in the village are hurdles in Salamander's quest for greatness and power, as are the three fierce women he marries. Pine Drop, Night Rain and finally Anhinga are persuaded to betray him by relatives who have axes to grind with the Owl Clan. Skirting deadly assassins at every turn and handling his wives preoccupies Salamander, but he's smarter than anyone anticipated and triumphs in the story's political, witch-hunting conclusion. Propelled by the Gears' spry storytelling, this sturdy epic skillfully navigates the ancient swamplands of Louisiana, with their lapping brown waters, hanging vines and brooding skies.