Tao is a boy who was shunned in his clan. The story takes place in early human times, when people painted in caves, even before ancient Mesopotamia. His mother died when he was just a baby, and his father disowned him. Kala, an elderly woman in his clan, took him in, because his father wanted to leave him out for the hyenas. He wants to be a cave painter, but only a select few can be chosen, and since he doesn't know who his father is, he didn't know whether his father was great, or just a regular Homo Sapien-Sapien. He meets a Shaman named Graybeard, who teaches him how to paint in caves. He faces awful consequences and meets friends along the way in this exiting tale.