On the Hill of Dust, in the remote mountains of Mexico, an eleven-year-old Mixtec boy called Teo lives with his family and the animals that he has healed, but one day a Romany caravan rolls into town with a young girl who calls herself Esma, the Gypsy Queen of Lightning--it is the beginning of a life-long friendship that will change both their lives.

Illustrations and text describe how the Mixtecs create painted manuscripts, or codices, that reflect their way of life and document their history, science, land tenure, tribute, and sacred rituals. "A young Aztec girl tells her little brother how their parents create beautiful painted manuscripts, or codices. She explains to him how paper is made from local plants and how the long paper is folded into a book. Her parents and others paint the codices...

"Fifteen-year old crown prince Acolmiztli wants nothing more than to see his city-state of Tetzcoco thrive. A singer, poet, and burgeoning philosophical mind, he has big plans about infrastructure projects and cultural initiatives that will bring honor to his family and help his people flourish. But the two sides of his family, the kingdoms of Mexico and Acolhuacan, have been at war his entire life - after his father risked the wrath of the Tepanec...

When Sabrina's grandmother visits from Mexico, she brings gifts that make Sabrina feel like a Mayan princess.

In order to marry Sage, the girl he loves, Young Eagle must leave his home in New Mexico and undertake a long and perilous journey to the land of the Aztecs to bring back chile seeds for Sage's father.