Ayla and Jondalar, because they are Auel's perfect couple, have little room for character growth, especially after three prequels. The only changes in the two are Ayla's increased confidence in meeting new groups of people and Jondalar's recognition of his affection for and need for the companionship of Wolf, Ayla's pet who saves both of them from the female tyrant. One improvement in this novel is that Auel lets people other than Ayla and Jondalar invent new processes or come to new discoveries: The healer of the S'Armunai has learned about ceramics, and the Losadunai know how to use coal to produce heat. However, with the setting of the novel sweeping over seven different communities and such vast territory, and with Auel's limited powers of characterization, there are even fewer memorable characters here than in previous volumes.