The newly formed Ceibo Alliance begins its journey by visiting the Kofan people. There, Emergildo tells Nenquimo he dreamed that she and Michi were feeding wild fruit to a baby parrot—and from this infers she is pregnant. The Kofan elders express their deep worry that the youth are becoming disconnected from the forest spirits. 

The group then travels to the Siekopai, where the elder Delfín shares yoco, a bitter vine used to clarify the mind. After drinking it, Nenquimo finds the courage to tell Michi she is pregnant. He reacts with love and joy, and they agree they are having a daughter. 

Their journey continues to the Siona territory on the violent Putumayo River. A Siona elder explains that their community survives the surrounding conflict by staying united through the sacred hallucinogenic plant, ayahuasca.

Finally, Nenquimo and Michi return to Nemonpare. Her mother immediately senses she is carrying a girl. At a sacred waterfall, a circular rainbow appears at Nenquimo and Michi’s feet. They decide to name their daughter Daime, meaning rainbow. 

That evening, Nenquimo explains the Ceibo Alliance to her parents. Opi reveals that they intend to use legal “rights” as weapons to defend their land. Michi has gathered a team of activists and legal experts to help and has acquired the public support of famous people. Nenquimo’s father says they should stay in Nemonpare now that she is pregnant. However, Nenquimo insists they must fight to protect their way of life. She invites her father to see the devastated lands of the other tribes for himself.

Nenquimo brings her parents and other Waorani elders to Amisacho—the original Kofan name for the area that the oil company replaced with Lago Agrio, a name shared with the Texas town where the company was founded. Tiri is disoriented and unnerved by the city’s traffic and noise. That evening, the elders of the four peoples—Waorani, Kofan, Siekopai, and Siona—gather around a fire, sharing the smoked meat the Waorani have brought and building friendships.

The next day, the entire group, including the cowori support team, tours the surrounding area to witness the environmental destruction firsthand. They pass barren, deforested hills, a cemetery bordered by pipelines, and a toxic oil waste pit. The Waorani elders are horrified by the visible pollution and the loss of natural species. Tiri observes that where cattle egrets now fly, scarlet macaws would have once roosted. Before she and Tiri return to the forest, Manuela warns Nenquimo to give birth in the village, not in a hospital where they will “cut” her.

Nenquimo returns to Nemonpare to give birth to her daughter, Daime, in a traditional birthing hammock inside the family longhouse. Her mother and Michi assist her through the intense and painful labor. In the days following the birth, Michi unknowingly violates a cultural taboo by touching an anaconda while fishing, an act believed to disturb a newborn’s spirit. Nenquimo explains this and other rules new parents must follow, such as not blowing on fire or handling certain animals.

For nearly a month, Nenquimo and her family enjoy a simple, traditional life. The experience of becoming a grandfather inspires Tiri to suggest showing the cowori how their people live in the forest so they might understand its value. Nenquimo formulates a new mission for the Ceibo Alliance: They will create maps of their territory, filling them with their knowledge of sacred sites, animal trails, and medicinal plants.

As a new mother and a leader, Nenquimo travels with Michi and Daime to Quito, Ecuador’s capital city, to obtain a birth certificate. The trip is a painful experience of racism. In a clinic, a woman asks Michi where the baby’s mother is, assuming Nenquimo is the nanny. A doctor speaks to Michi about Nenquimo as if she isn’t there, and the US Embassy refuses to believe they are a family, demanding a DNA test to grant Daime citizenship. The constant prejudice makes Nenquimo physically ill and emotionally withdrawn.

Her spirit is restored upon returning to Amisacho, where she is welcomed with love by the Ceibo Alliance community. Amisacho has become a bustling hub where young Indigenous leaders train with the cowori support team, now officially named Amazon Frontlines. They learn to use tools like GPS and drones while planning strategies for territorial defense. 

The Alliance spends two years making colorful, complex maps of all their villages. One day Nenquimo’s father takes her to Victor’s grave. Tiri reveals that the day after Victor’s burial he found a jaguar cub by his grave. Nenquimo is convinced her brother returned to the jungle as a jaguar.

Opi discovers that the government has announced a new oil auction, designating their territory “Block 22” and putting it up for sale alongside 14 other “Blocks” of the Amazon. In response, the Waorani people gather for a large assembly. Nenquimo gives a speech, urging them to fight and reminding them that the cowori world seeks to break their community in order to take their resources. Opi explains their legal strategy, which is centered on the right to “free, prior, and informed consent” (329). Elders testify that they were tricked into putting their thumbprints on documents they couldn’t understand in exchange for soda and bread.

That night, the community celebrates with a traditional dance. During the festivities, the elders perform an impromptu marriage ceremony for Nenquimo and Michi, binding them together with chanted blessings and advice. 

The next morning, the community marches into a clearing in the forest. They unfurl a large banner with a message painted in three languages: “OUR LAND IS NOT FOR SALE!” (335). Using a drone, they film themselves chanting as the camera rises high above the canopy, sending their message of resistance to the world.

The Waorani lawsuit against the Ecuadorian government begins. Nenquimo and several elders serve as plaintiffs, wearing feathered crowns and painting their faces with the natural coloring achiote. When their initial request to hold the hearing in their territory is denied, they respond with ancestral songs and war dances. The act of spiritual resistance forces the judge to adjourn the hearing. In the month that follows, the Ceibo Alliance and Amazon Frontlines launch an international online campaign, drawing global attention to the case.

When the trial resumes, Nenquimo has a dream in which she guides the lead judge on a canoe, helping her see the forest’s beauty. The dream convinces Nenquimo that to win, she must help the judges see her people’s humanity. An elder, Wiña, reveals that she had a dream in which the jaguars of the forest spoke to her, recognizing the Waorani people as their “lawyers.”

The trial lasts for days, featuring testimony from Nenquimo and Opi. Opi uses the Waorani-made maps to show their deep connection to the land. Finally, the verdict is read: The court rules in favor of the Waorani, declaring that the government violated their rights and that the oil auction is illegal. Their territory, half a million acres of rainforest, is protected. They celebrate with a victory march through the city of Puyo, where the local townspeople cheer for them. Having won the battle, Nenquimo tells her mother she is finally ready to come home.

Back in Nemonpare, Nenquimo’s father notices fresh jaguar scat. As the family follows the jaguar’s tracks, Nenquimo absorbs the beauty of the forest and feels her brother Victor’s presence. She knows he is watching and is proud of her for saving their territory.