This epic novel tells the story of the illegitimate daughter of a Mexican nobleman named Don Tomàs Urrea. Teresita, who was conceived when Urrea raped a young Indian woman known as "the Hummingbird," becomes a healer who, at one point, dies and comes back to life. The miraculous girl is eventually adopted by her father, becoming educated, confident, and famous for her curative skills. She was also the aunt of the author, Luis Alberto Urrea, who spent 20 years researching and writing this fictionalized life of a remarkable woman.