One hundred years have passed. Doro arrives in Avoyelles parish in Louisiana seeking a man named Edward Warrick. A great deal has changed in America since 1741, including the War of Independence and the War of 1812. Doro has expanded his reach and has thought often of Anyanwu. His alien tracking sense for power has brought him to Louisiana. He finds many special people among the parishioners in Avoyelles, including stories of the inhospitableness of Warwick, and the fact that a large black wolf haunts the nearby area. Doro intends to take Anyanwu by stealth and kill her before she can transform into an animal, escaping his killer telepathic grasp.

He meets Stephen, a young man with the demeanor of a former slave, and confronts him about his abnormally foreshortened arms. The boy very willingly confesses that he lost his arms in a combine and is in the middle of using his extraordinary healing ability “to grow new ones” (220). Anyanwu then appears as a giant wolf but transforms into her natural state in order to converse with Doro. The three enter into a delicate bargain. Doro is compelled by the “breeding program” established by Anyanwu, though she prefers to think of it as a free society of equals.