When Lowell Sencha finds a strange girl called Lycaea lying as if dead on the riverbank, he is startled to find that she is like him: waer. Human, but able to assume the form of a wolf. Then soldiers descend on the village with fire and sword, searching for her. Lowell and Lycaea are among the few to escape. Now they must find their way to the city of Luthan. Their mission is to bring down Daeman Leldh, the deranged tyrant whose fantasies of blood purity threaten them all. And they will need help that only Lycaea's former comrades in Luthan can give. If she can persuade them not to kill her.