Life is difficult for the refugees abandoned by Araxis' betrayal. Isolation, starvation, and death loom over the tower refuge of Kryie Karth. For Kaphri, the lone child survivor, it's even worse as she confronts the others' hatred and resentment every day. Then, two days before her eighteenth birthday, the current leader inexplicably dies, and suspicious eyes turn to her. Secrets erupt in long pent-up fury and fear, and Kaphri discovers that everything she has been taught about her Birthstar is a lie. Terrified that she is destined for evil, she disavows her star power and flees out into an alien world with her tiny dragon companion, Gemma. When three Geffitzi warriors capture Kaphri, they believe they have the key to repairing the damage evil Araxis did to their world. She doesn't dare tell them she may be exactly the opposite-the means for him to restore his power and renew his reign of terror.