Summoned from her exile in the Iceworld, Lingri is asked to return to the larger World in order to save the People from themselves. But how much can an Other give? Lingri must choose between the safety of the Iceworld and the individuals who bind her there—her Intermix son Joreth, his pregnant wife Dwiri, and the possibly mad telepath Lerius—or the prospect of peace in the nearly demolished World.
She must face Dzugash the Pure, instigator of the genocide, her lifelong nemesis Chior, who might have averted the slaughter but refused, and Jemadar, who loves Lingri and is willing to endure torture for a species not his own. This final confrontation between People and Others will either heal them both or destroy them all forever.