Zecora Nebambi lives in Nibirue with her parents. Her mother Ayanna Nebambi is the lead healer of the village and her father Aren Nebambi is warrior and chief.

The tribe has certain 'customs'. All the young girls of the village are taught and raised as healers. Zecora is good at the healing but she finds it an empty lifestyle. She wants to earn her stripes her way. One day she tries to stand up to her father and tells her father that she wants to choose her own path. However, Her father says that she MUST follow the rules of the tribe if she wanted to live there.

Zecora eventually realises that if she is going to live properly she will have to run away from home. But she is worried how she will survive and where she will go…And will it damage the tribe? Are her parents strict for a reason? And how will the absence of the chiefs only daughter affect the rest of Nibirue?