Pictures are seen through a maze of swarming dots that alternately form a screen obscuring the image or form the very substance of the image itself. The soundtrack quotes excerpts from a 1930 Franz Boas text about a Kwakiutle Indian who tells his story of learning the ways of a shaman. The story serves as a metaphor for the artist's struggle. The film is about the desire to master the magic of the image while following a path of skepticism and doubt.