- A native American doctor discovers a unique way to cure terminally ill patients, but the price of the treatment is murder.
- An idealistic young Indian doctor, John White Cloud, gets hold of a cursed Indian rattle that allows him to cure one patient - by killing another. His next patient is Mijcki's friend, and Micki must decide whether they should recover the rattle - or let White Cloud cure her friend first.—Gislef
- At the Riverview Hospital, Dr. Thomas Lamar is in the operating room unplugging a heart valve. Dr. John White Cloud looks on, and advises Lamar to be careful. Lamar, offended, says that his fatality rate is less than 1%, and wishes White Cloud's clinic would stop "dumping" charity patients at Riverview.
The patient's blood pressure drops, and when Lamar dismisses the patient as a wino, White Cloud insists that he isn't. The pressure continues dropping, and Lamar orders the application of a clamp. White Cloud warns against it, warning it will cut off the blood flow to the patient's heart and cause a stroke. Lamar is more concerned that the patient doesn't die under his watch, and ignores White Cloud's protests.
White Cloud calls Lamar a "butcher", and after the surgery is over White Cloud confronts Lamar in the prep room. Lamar insists that he stopped the patient from bleeding to death. When White Cloud asks if the patient's chances are one in ten, Lamar tries to throttle him and the other doctors pull him away. The older doctor says that medicine isn't perfect. When White Cloud says that Lamar doesn't care about the patient, Lamar tells him that all of White Cloud's privileges are taken away from him. White Cloud objects, and Lamar threatens to have the board shut down White Cloud's clinic. Lamar leaves and Dr. Eric Jeffries looks sympathetically at White Cloud before leaving.
Later at the nearby Iroquois reservation, White Cloud's his grandfather Spotted Owl is performing a ritual over a man. Spotted Owl's granddaughter Sasheena is beating the drum for her grandfather, and the wheelchair-bound "patient" Harrison is not cured and unable to stand up despite his pain. Harrison begs Spotted Owl to cure him, but Spotted Owl says that there is nothing he can do.
White Cloud comes in, and he and Spotted Owl look at each other for a moment. Sasheena leads him out, and Harrison asks if White Cloud is also a shaman. Spotted Owl says that his grandson isn't.
Outside, White Cloud tells Sasheena that he needs her help at the clinic. None of the "white doctors" will help because none of them care. He went to medical school instead of practicing Indian medicine like Spotted Owl wanted, and Sasheena says that Spotted Owl wanted White Cloud to replace him as shaman. White Cloud sarcastically says that Spotted Owl has Sasheena to succeed him, and she says that she has to do something.
Sasheena leads White Cloud to a cave filled with tribal artifacts, goes inside, and while she tends to them White Cloud sees a bundle containing a rattle. Sasheena tells him that it's a symbol of a shaman's power over life and death, and it shakes in White Cloud's hand. White Cloud has a vision of a shaman in the cave, killing a human sacrifice to cure a sick man. After the sacrifice is dead, the ancient shaman shakes the rattle over the ill man, who is cured.
The rattle stops shaking, and White Cloud returns to Riverview. He checks on the patient and finds Dr. Ralph Walker examining the man. White Cloud says that he's there because the patient-and Indian--is his patient. Walker warns that Lamar will nail White Cloud's butt to the wall for coming in after his privileges were taken.
White Cloud holds up the rattle, which shakes on its own. It flies into the air and hovers over Walker, spinning. A vein explodes in his head, and Walker screams in pain. As he collapses to the floor, dead, White Cloud takes the rattle in hand. The patient wakes up and looks at White Cloud, cured. White Cloud tells him that he's going to be all right.
Later at Curious Good, Micki asks Jack to cover for her while she visits her hospitalized friend, Blair Gerard. The doctors at Riverview haven't determined what is wrong with her, and Micki says that she's too young to be having heart pains. Micki goes to Riverview and Blair tells her that they found a rare sarcoma on her lung. The prognosis is that Blair will die in two months like her roommate, Vera Anderson. There's nothing the doctors can do, and Micki hugs her friend in sympathy.
Jeffries approaches White Cloud and apologizes for what happened the day before. He says that it's White Cloud's fault, and the rest of them were trying to save the patient. Jeffries point out that the patient is now better, and Lamar is a good doctor. White Cloud says that all Lamar cares about is money, and Jeffries points out that Walker is dead. When White Cloud goes to check on Blair and Vera, Vera says that she can't take much more of the pain.
White Cloud says that he'll talk to Lamar, and Lamar comes in and says that there are people they can save and Vera is a lost cause. He tells White Cloud to get out of the hospital by noon, and tells Nurse Meredith to drug Vera further to kill her pain. Once Lamar leaves, White Cloud protests to Meredith but she points out that Lamar is her boss.
That night, White Cloud sneaks back into Riverview and uses the rattle on Meredith when she's alone. She reminds him that it's Lamar's orders that White Cloud not be there, and it's a terminal ward. The hovering rattle causes Meredith to vomit out one of her own lungs. White Cloud then goes to Vera's room and uses the rattle on her. Blair wakes up and sees him performing the healing ritual with the rattle.
The next day, Lamar examines Vera as Jeffries looks on. Vera says that the pain is gone, and she refuses to stay until Lamar gives her more tests. Micki arrives as Jeffries tries to persuade Vera to stay. She refuses and as Vera goes, she tells Blair to see White Cloud. Once she's gone, Blair tells Micki that Vera was cured by an Indian medicine man. Micki doesn't believe her friend, who says that Meredith died. Blair wants to call White Cloud, and Micki says she'll find out if White Cloud can cure people.
Harrison goes to White Cloud's clinic, and White Cloud asks him how much a cure would be worth. He says that he wants enough money for a fully-staffed clinic, and has never heard of any cure. White Cloud tells Harrison to bring him a patient, and he'll cure him to prove his ability. Harrison agrees to pay for White Cloud's clinic if he can cure the patient.
At the shop, Micki tells Ryan and Jack about Vera's cure and Meredith's death.
Meredith says that White Cloud isn't allowed on the floor. Earlier Lamar ordered White Cloud out of the hospital while Meredith was present. Meredith died of no apparent medical reason, and Jack figures a cursed antique is responsible. He checks the manifest and discovers and finds an entry on Lewis selling the rattle to Spotted Owl four years ago. There's an address for the reservation, and it shows that Spotted Owl is the tribe's medicine man. Jack figures that he should handle it allow because it might be a sensitive matter, while Ryan goes looking for White Cloud.
Later at the reservation, Jack tries to buy back the rattle. He insists that the only safe place for it is in the vault, and Spotted Owl knows about the curse. The Indian says that the rattle belongs to his tribe, and it does no harm. Jack says that not all men are good. When Spotted Owl notes that white men stole the tribe's relics, Jack says that Spotted Owl has too much wisdom to hold all white men responsible for the actions of a few. Spotted Owl agrees, but refuses to give him the rattle. He insists that it's in a safe place guarded by the shamans' spirits. When Jack warns that someone is using it for evil, Spotted Owl says that he'll find the truth in his own way. Realizing that he won't get any further, Jack leaves
Sasheena guides Jack off the reservation to his car. She says that she's the shaman's apprentice and someone has to preserve their culture. She tells Jack that Spotted Owl will know how to handle the rattle, but Jack isn't convinced. That night, Spotted Owl and Sasheena go to the cave and discover that the rattle is gone. She says that White Cloud came there with her
Later in the cave, Sasheena performs the ritual under Spotted Owl's tutelage. He prays to his ancestors' spirits, asking for a vision so he can know the truth.
At Riverview, White Cloud stalks Lamar but is unable to catch him alone. Spotted Owl has a vision of his grandson, killing one of Lamar's patients with the rattle. The patient bleeds out, screaming, and Spotted Owl snaps out of the vision.
The next day, Harrison brings a young ill boy to the clinic. He has the same illness that Harrison does, only critical, and Harrison says that he wanted to see how good White Cloud's cure is. White Cloud performs a ritual over the boy, using the rattle.
At Riverview, Blair tells Micki that she has to go to White Cloud. She can't take the pain of chemo anymore, and Micki asks her not quit on her because Blair has never been a quitter before. Blair points out that White Cloud cured Vera in one night, and figures she has nothing to lose.
At the clinic, White Cloud comes in with the healed boy and shows him to Harrison. Harrison tells White Cloud that his accountants will be in touch and leaves. Ryan is outside and approaches White Cloud and claims that Blair is a friend of his. and repeats Blair's story about seeing White Cloud cure Vera with a ritual. White Cloud insists that his work isn't shamanistic but he uses homeopathic curing. When Ryan says that Blair mentioned a rattle, White Cloud says that he was chanting a mantra to get Vera to sleep.
At the shop, Blair tells Jack that the boy was just as sick and had the same disease as Harrison. Micki comes in and says that there have been three mysterious deaths at Riverview. Jack figures that the deaths and cures are connected, and Ryan figures that White Cloud got the rattle from Spotted Owl. While he sends Micki to Riverview to check on White Cloud's background, Jack goes back to the reservation. Ryan wonders why White Cloud would use a cursed object when he cares for people.
Sasheena visits her brother, who tells her to tell their grandfather that Jack is lying. She asks for the rattle back, pointing out that it belongs to their tribe, and her brother insists that he can use it to save lives. When Sasheena says that Spotted Owl told her that White Cloud is hurting people, White Cloud says that Spotted Owl is lying to her. Sasheena doesn't believe it, and points out that White Cloud has changed and asks him to come back to his people before it's too late... or at least bring the rattle back. She warns that if he doesn't, Spotted Owl will take the rattle from him and he's preparing a ceremony to take away the rattle's power.
Micki talks to Lamar, who refuses to discuss White Cloud. Once he walks away, Jeffries approaches Micki and tells her that Lamar has been served with a malpractice suit because his patient died. He notes that the patient was healing perfectly, and then his incision opened. Jeffries tells Micki that Lamar hates White Cloud and vice versa, and notes that Blair is checking out to visit White Cloud's clinic.
When she goes to Blair's room, Micki warns her about the deaths surrounding White Cloud. Blair doesn't care, and asks why Micki isn't helping her fight her cancer.
Jack goes to the reservation, and Spotted Owl tells him that he knows that the curse is true. He warns that no one will survive a fight with his grandson, and Spotted Owl doesn't want Jack to die. Spotted Owl says that he isn't afraid of death, and invites Jack to come back the next day. Either Spotted Owl will give him the rattle, or Sasheena will show Jack how to defeat White Cloud.
That night, White Cloud goes to the cave with Sasheena. Spotted Owl is there, and says if White Cloud doesn't give back the rattle, he will call on the spirits to take its power. His grandson says that the rattle has more power than all of the spirits, and Spotted Owl begins his ritual. White Cloud begs him to stop, saying he doesn't want to hurt him, but Spotted Owl continues.
The rattle rises into the air on its own, and Sasheena begs White Cloud to make it stop. Spotted Owl's magic is useless against the rattle, and Spotted Owl clutches at his chest in pain. Once he dies, Sasheena goes to his body, cradles it in her arms, and glares at her brother. The rattle returns to White Cloud's hand, and he stares at it in shock, and moans in pain and grief.
Later, Sasheena prepares her grandfather's body for burial. White Cloud says that he'll make the white men pay for Spotted Owl's death, blaming them.
The next day, White Cloud cures Harrison and assures White Cloud that he'll get his fully-financed clinic. Lamar arrives, and tells White Cloud that he's delivering a message from the board that they're shutting down White Cloud and his clinic. White Cloud grabs Lamar by the lapels, and Lamar invites White Cloud to hit him so he can put him in jail. The younger man releases him and goes inside, and Lamar warns him that if White Cloud practices without a license, he'll have White Cloud arrested.
At the shop, Micki tells Ryan that White Cloud is using the rattle to gain revenge on the staff at Riverview. They figure that Lamar will be the next victim, and Micki points out that it will mean Blair won't be cured. Jack points out that they can't let White Cloud kill Lamar, but Micki figures that Blair is "worth" more than Lamar. Ryan takes Micki with him to the reservation to get the rattle from Spotted Owl.
Blair meets with White Cloud at his clinic, and he tells her to come back in a couple of days after he's made his "preparations". When Blair worries that Lamar will be upset that she came to see White Cloud, White Cloud tells her that Lamar won't and White Cloud will have Lamar help with her recovery.
That night at Riverview, White Cloud chloroforms Lamar unconscious.
The trio go to Spotted Owl's house, and find an animal skin with writing on it. Sasheena emerges from the shadows, and says that Spotted Owl kept his promise to give Jack a way to defeat White Cloud. She tells them that Spotted Owl is dead, and asks Jack to help her awaken the spirits of her ancestors.
In the cave, White Cloud ties Lamar to a post and says that he will give him a death like his tribe used on their special enemies. The captives were skinned alive and roasted, then sacrificed to the spirits.
Jack and the others head for the cave, and Sasheena explains that it's the burial cave of the shamen. The group goes in and hears the gagged Lamar moaned in pain. Sasheena explains that it's a blood sacrifice, and they have to use Spotted Owl's ritual to get the rattle or White Cloud will kill them. She enters the main cave and calls on the shamen's spirits to stop White Cloud.
The spirits emerge from the fire and surround White Cloud, chanting. Spotted Owl's spirit is among them, and when he summons the power, White Cloud disappears. The rattle lies powerless on the cave floor, and Jack and Ryan free Lamar while Micki picks up the rattle and goes to Sasheena.
Later at the shop, Jack notices Micki looking pensive. Ryan comes in and tells Jack that Sasheena put the rattle back in the burial cave. Jack says that the rattle isn't theirs to take, and Sasheena and the spirits will keep it as safe as they could.
Micki says that it isn't fair, that they saved Lamar but condemned Blair to death. Jack suggests that Lamar might be better, but Micki isn't impressed. Despite that, Jack says that it's not up to them to play God.
Blair goes to the clinic and discovers that it's closed.
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