'The Fate of All Rests with a Universal Awakening'. Upon the passing of her beloved grandmother, Melody Bennet receives startling instructions that she is to take the ashes of Grandmama Giselle to southern Louisiana. Melody must step far outside her comfort zone in the suburbs of North Carolina to fulfill this dying wish. She finds herself blindly navigating the exotic, sometimes hostile environs of New Orleans and Bear Bayou, and immersed in a subculture based on an ancient West African religion. At this unexpected crossroad, she discovers new cultures and beliefs - and new dangers - and awakens to a new way of seeing the world and her role in it. Melody learns that a different perspective can indeed change your perception of reality.