The story follows Aiela, a world-survey officer of the peaceable Kallian race, who is abducted by the Iduve, a powerful, advanced, and predatory alien species that travels the galaxy in city-sized starships. The Iduve operate based on a rigid code of honor and an instinctual, emotionless predatory nature that is entirely alien to humans and Kallians. The specific Iduve clanship, the Ashanome, is on a centuries-long mission of vaikka, a form of ultimate vengeance, against one of their own kind, Tejef, who violated ancient codes and fled into human space. The Ashanome arrives in orbit around the planet Priamos, where the fugitive is believed to be hiding, and threatens to destroy the entire world (and its million inhabitants) if he is not found. To aid in their hunt on the planet’s surface, the Iduve commander, Chimele, forcibly mind-links Aiela with two other captives: a human officer named Daniel and a slave-born female Kallian named Isande. Through a process called Asuthi, their minds are melded, allowing them to share thoughts, languages, and emotions, which is a deeply disorienting experience for all three. The trio must learn to work together and understand their captors’ alien logic to locate the fugitive and save the planet Priamos before the Iduve execute their devastating plan.