The Earth's Children series are my guilty pleasure and I haul them out to read them every couple of years or so.
A young girl is found after an earthquake and rescued by a pre-historic tribe. She is well-treated but considered an oddity because of her appearance. She learns the ways of the medicine woman, she learns to hunt, she has a child. Not everyone loves Ayla, however, and she is forced to leave the tribe and her child and make her own way.
A young man is journeying with his brother. They encounter several tribes along the way, settling down with them and learning skills from them until leaving to resume their journey. The brother dies along the way from a cave lion attack that leaves Jondolar severely injured. He is rescued and nursed back to health by Ayla, who has settled down in a nearby cave with only the animals she has managed to domesticate for company.
At this point, the series becomes a little like a Harlequin Romance against a pre-historic backdrop. Boy and girl meet and fall in love. Neither is able to articulate their feeling for eachother, leading to a series of misunderstandings. However, they are able to work together and between them manage to invent most of the significant developments of the Stone Age. Eventually, they realize that their feelings for eachother are mutual.
Ayla and Jondolar continue their journey together. They meet many other people along the way. There continue to be misunderstandings, breakups and reconciliations. The most interesting thing about these books are the descriptions of the lives and customs, the ceremonies and festivals of these stone age people.
I really like the whole series and will probably continue to re-read them every few years or so.
