The fragrant, sun-checkered canyon lands of the planet Dinadh seem to be a peaceful backwater of the universe...except for one thing. A century ago, a mysterious force wiped out human life on all surrounding worlds, leaving Dinadh untouched. Every team sent to investigate vanished. Every attempt to contact survivors met with a devastating silence. Now the unknown force is back - and this time humanity's only hope for survival lies on Dinadh...with a woman who'd give anything not to get involved. Lutha Tallstaff is a brilliant linguist, a devoted mother, and a reluctant emissary to Dinadh. Her mission is to locate the famed adventurer Leelson Famber, who has disappeared, taking with him what may be the only clue to the nature of the deadly threat. But for Lutha, finding Famber, who also happens to be her estranged lover and the father of her child, is the last thing she wants to do. At Lutha's side on this perilous quest is her strange and beautiful young son, a boy whose father denies his humanity but whose bizarre abilities will soon have far-reaching consequences. Reunited on Dinadh, the threesome find themselves traversing a planet dazzling in its cool springs and blossoming fruit trees, dangerous in its fountains of fire and rapacious winged wraiths. Yet only when they approach the planet's holiest place will Lutha discover the truth about her child, about the savage Ularians, and about the future of humankind. For she, her lover, and their son figure in a pattern of cosmic importance that will shake the universe - and their understanding of life, love, good and evil - to its very foundations.