"And Sometimes, she is simply called Vengeance."

No one bears a name like that without good reason. This is part one of the story of Agalla Tyell, a young woman orphaned by the murder of her parents at the hands of the genocidal K'terans.  Not fitting their standard of human purity, Agalla is imprisoned and is suffering through a sentence of one hundred lashes with a cane, dealt out twenty-five at a time. After her second trip to the post, her cell mate--an old woman named Kite-- explains why she is being held--and why they must escape.  It is the depth of winter when they finally get their chance, but Agalla finds herself thrust into the role of protector of a half-dozen girls even younger than she.  But escaping the K'teran garrison is only the beginning, and Agalla's life will never be the same.