In this second book of the Others trilogy, the last of the Others are in exile, fleeing their ravaged Archipelago across a sea fraught with danger to sanctuary in a land of ice, for nowhere else in the World is safe for them. Reunited with her Intermix son Joreth, Lingri attempts to explain the many threads of event, personality, and circumstance that have entangled her existence with the People's.

She relates her lifelong relationship with the Healer Dweneth, her incendiary relationship with the musician Redrec, father of her son, and most especially her connection with the madman Dzu, an outcast of the People's reared by Others, who uses everything in his power as ruler of the World to destroy those who once nurtured him.

As Lingri weaves her tale together, word reaches the peace-loving Others that the People are now warring against each other. Will the Others turn away, or risk themselves once more in an attempt to save the World?