For Cub, a young Copena Indian boy growing up in the southeastern part of North America almost two thousand years ago, life is confusing and sometimes frightening. The hardships that he and his tribe must face are very different from the hardships we face today, and Cub must learn how to stay alive in his harsh and dangerous world. When a strange visitor convinces Cub's parents that the boy's pet is too dangerous to keep, Cub decides to run away into the forest with Wolf, his faithful companion who is half dog and half wolf. Battling his own very justified fears--the winter months were known as "the lean months" because food was so scarce that many of his people died, and the threat of attack by unfriendly tribes was a real and serious risk--Cub ventures into the woods in search of a safe place for Wolf and himself to spend the winter. Here, away from friends, with little food or protection, Cub must face the most difficult and harrowing experiences of his life as he encounters violent storms, fierce enem