One lovely spring day, fourteen-year-old Bright Morning and her friend Running Bird take their sheep to pasture. The sky is clear blue against the red buttes of the Canyon de Chelly, and the fields and orchards of the Navahos promise a rich harvest. Bright Morning is happy as she gazes across the beautiful valley that is the home of her tribe. Happy until the barking of Black Dog disturbs her and she tums. It is then that she sees the Spanish slavers riding straight toward her.