This is the story of the Black man known as "Estevanico," or "Little Stephen" in Portuguese, and the slave of Senior Dorantes. Estevanico was a scout, ambassador, and a guide for the Narvaez expedition. He went ahead for the purpose of sending back reports of the importance of the pueblos and towns he found in what would become the American Southwest.

Estevanico (1499-1539) most likely was born "Musthapha Zammouri." He is the first known person of African descent to have arrived in the present-day continental United States. He was one of only four survivors of the Spanish Narvaez expedition and traveled with explorer Cabeza de Vaca across northern New Spain (the present-day US Southwest and Northern Mexico).