The author tries to lead a new troupe of mages. So far, it’s going extremely poorly. The students periodically have strange memories of events that never happened—and could not have happened—in the world of ordinary perception. Conflicts between Castaneda and the other students are growing. And suddenly, with the help of La Gorda, the new Nagual remembers that, due to the special structure of his energy body—the glowing cocoon—he cannot be their leader. Their paths diverge. Only La Gorda remains with him. Together they travel to Los Angeles, where they engage in joint dream-trips and in a heightened state of awareness, trying to recall everything that occurred to them during their years of apprenticeship.