Tim Noonan travels to Siberia, to attempt the boy to man ritual of the Nenets reindeer people. To become a man, Tim must learn to slaughter a reindeer without spilling a drop of its blood.

Tim Noonan travels to the mysterious islands of Guinea-Bissau, where he endures a baptism of fire that involves his being beaten naked, eating bush rats and monkeys, and frightening initiations including a tribal scar.

Tim journeys to Mongolia to attempt the ancient Kazak boy to man ritual of the eagle hunters. Only if he can train a golden eagle to hunt the corsac fox will he become a true eagle man.