A juvenile book about the battle between Aztec and Spanish soldiers at Tenochtitlan, Mexico in 1519. The Aztecs were waiting for the fulfillment of a prophecy: the Feathered Serpent god, Quetzalcoatl, was coming, perhaps to claim their empire for his own. That same year, Spanish adventurer Hernan Cortes arrived, looking for treasure and land. The Aztec ruler, Moctezuma II, welcomed him as a god. This was only the first in the series of misunderstandings and betrayals that led to the terrible battle known as The Sad Night, and finally to the Spanish conquest of Mexico. The Aztecs defeated that band of Spaniards, but their empire was destroyed the next year.