Taking advantage of internal contradictions, the Aztecs manage to capture the May border city-state of Coatzaoc. The wife of the ruler of Koatsaoka, Ish-Chel, is captured. Miraculously, having escaped the fate of being sacrificed by the priests of Coatzaoca, rejected by her husband, the woman is trying to survive in Tenochtitlan, the capital of the state of Anahuac. The Aztecs worship bloodthirsty gods who demand human sacrifices: neither a prisoner, nor a slave, nor a free citizen can be safe - the priestly lot can fall to anyone. Ish-Chel becomes involved in saving the ancient books of the Aztecs - the Codex, which the ruler of Anahuac, Itzcoatl, decided to destroy in order to rewrite the history of his people. He meets Itzcoatl's chief adviser, Tlacaelel, a wise diplomat and Aztec reformer, saves his fellow tribesmen from sacrifice, makes efforts to conclude peace between the Aztecs and Mayans, and builds his life.