Elana, a young woman from a civilization incredibly advanced beyond our own, has grown up with high ideals and plans to follow in her parents' footsteps as a field agent in the Anthropological Service, which protects less developed peoples from outside interference. Her studies have barely begun when she is thrown unprepared into a field mission.

She stows away in a shuttle ship, expecting only to have a look at a new, unspoiled planet, but random events plunge her into a central role in a scheme to save Andrecia from disruptive colonization. All her talents—from the telepathic powers held by her race to her own emotional sensitivity and courage— are called upon in what follows.

Also important to the story is Georyn, who sets out with his brothers on the high quest of dragonslaying. His brothers, motivated by the King's promises...