Noki, a young Native American, has always dreamed of becoming a master weapon maker like his father. His dream is shattered with the arrival of the Spanish in 1798, who bring with them devastating sicknesses and strange gods. Antonio Peyri, a Franciscan priest newly arrived to Spanish California, is put in charge of building the Mission San Luis Rey. Even as new buildings rise on the grass and scrub-covered hills, Father Peyri struggles to win the hearts and souls of the people already living there. How he is able to do this when the Indians fear and distrust him is the core of this fact-based novel of early California.