born in southern california late in the eighteenth century, he is a child of two worlds. diego de la vega’s father is an aristocratic spanish military man turned landowner; his mother, a shoshone warrior. diego learns from his maternal grandmother, white owl, the ways of her tribe while receiving from his father lessons in the art of fencing and in cattle branding. it is here, during diego’s childhood, filled with mischief and adventure, that he witnesses the brutal injustices dealt native americans by european settlers and first feels the inner conflict of his heritage. at the age of sixteen, diego is sent to barcelona for a european education. in a country chafing under the corruption of napoleonic rule, diego follows the example of his celebrated fencing master and joins la justicia, a secret underground resistance movement devoted to helping the powerless and the poor. with this tumultuous period as a backdrop, diego falls in love, saves the persecuted, and confronts for the first time a great rival who emerges from the world of privilege.