When John is six years old, in 1932, he discovers an old stone pipe laying in the mud of a hog wallow on his family's farm in the Coal Creek Valley, near present day Montrose, Colorado. At age eleven John is critically ill after a ruptured appendix. John hovers between life and death. The spirit of Chief Ouray, a Ute leader, keeps vigil over John, telling him he is Keeper of the Pipe. Readers will follow John's life long journey to protect the pipe...