Maggie Muir Brandt has been charged by a Shawnee creation spirit with the renewal of the earth. But her elderly mother is losing her grip on reality, and she feels she must set aside her own life to move back to her childhood home to take care of her. Maggie's brother Sandy objects, saying it would be better for their mother to live closer to him. Sandy abused Maggie all through their childhood, and that history makes her suspicious of his sudden interest in their mother. Then, in a vision, she sees a water panther - a monster - attack a drowning doe, and she knows the water panther is Sandy and the doe is their mother. In her vision, Maggie thwarts the water panther's attack. But she knows he will be back, and she can't hold him off forever. It's an impossible situation, but it must be solved, and soon. Because time is running out for the earth, and Maggie can't fulfill her destiny until she has subdued her own demons - including Sandy.