The Great Death arrived with the man from downriver, the one who came with the light-colored strangers and had little red spots covering his body. Thirteen-year-old Millie and her younger sister, Maura, are fascinated by the guests, but soon sickness takes over their village and they have little time to think of anything else. As they watch the people they know and love die of the plague, the sisters begin to realize that they will have to set out on their own to find a new home. 
Alone in the cold Alaskan winter, struggling to overcome the obstacles nature throws their way, the girls discover that their true strength lies in their love for each other. 
 
“An extraordinary story of feminine courage. A small miracle.” —Tony Hillerman