A backwater system in the Deklan Oligarchy, the Four Suns hides a sinister plot to destabilize the Serrll Combine government. An Envoy is sent to uncover the scheme before the Serrll explodes into factional warfare. Having 'volunteered' as a military aide to the Envoy, Second Scout Terrllss-rr uncovers a link between slavery and local government's plans to cede the Four Suns. That knowledge marks him for death. Fleeing, his survival blister crashes on Anar'on, the fabled world of the Wanderer nomads. Terr is found in the deep desert, lost, without memory, without a past. To restore himself, Terr undergoes training in the Discipline. Facing the god of Death, he receives more than he bargained for.