Five priests are dead, brutally murdered by the people God sent them to save. One survived, the young Franciscan who was enslaved and tortured by the Indians, but who refuses to testify against the killers. And what of the old Indian, the Acueran who speaks many tongues? Does he allow himself to be held prisoner of the Spanish sergeant? Is Father Pareja wise to use the old man in his language studies, and what dangers does he present for the priest, the mission or the young altar boy, Juan de Coya? And what hope is there for the Indians who have no defense against the arquebus and musket, and no magic for the pox and plague the invaders bring? The year is 1601. The place is the Catholic Mission San Juan del Puerto where the ancient Timucuan River of the Sun flows into an uncertain future.