Deserted by his parents, a young boy finds himself alone in the often grotesque world or relatives who do not want to raise him. As daily events become more and more intolerable, the boy clings to the legends and religious traditions of the area for relief. When a hunting party forces his grandfather to kill the Horned Mother Deer that the boy believes sacred, the boy, filled with horror and disgust, commits an act he thinks will lead him to the love and affection he so desperately needs.