After helping Thunder's family get little Misun back, Alex goes to Charleston, SC because Thunder's mother had said that before Alex could help Thunder become the Calf of the White Buffalo, he would first have to become a shaman and return to that place where he was when he became a man. He vaguely remembers that something heavy happened in Charleston, and he has reason to believe that that event was his rite of passage, the place where he became a man. Despite the many, almost insurmountable obstacles before him, not only does he discover that that is not the case, but also much more is revealed to him than he ever could have imagined, such as finding an older sister in rural Uganda who informs him that he was adopted.