Ceremony is the story of Tayo, a half-white and half Laguna Native American who is drafted into the U.S. Army at the inception of World War II. Traumatized by the fighting and by the grisly death of his friend Rocky during the Bataan Death March, Tayo returns to reservation life a broken man. The story follows his descent into alcoholism and, later, his salvation after turning to Laguna spiritual and cultural traditions.