Description: Discovery, rebellion and exile - elemental themes - are the heart of this remarkable story, set twenty-five millionyears ago, at the time when Earth and its creatures were undergoing profound change. Ratha and her kind are the Named, a band of intelligent wild cats who are relatives of the ancient sabertooth. They have developed a society based on herding forest animals, and have laws and leaders. They live at war with a group of predatory cats, raiders called the Un-Named, who lack their intelligence and social organization. The Un-Named are pushing the Named close to extinction when Ratha tames a power no other animal has ever dared approach - fire. For her boldness, she is exiled by the leader of the Clan, who feels threatened by her power.