Out of the kettle and into the fire. Agalla Tyell and her cellmate Kite have escaped the K'teran prison at Hepet'dara with six young women in tow. They've fled into the bitter cold of a winter night, and the K'teri are hard in pursuit. Harried by soldiers and dogs, Agalla and the others are driven ever northward and ever higher into the mountains. Grievously injured, Agalla finds herself and the others cornered in an ancient shrine. Time is running out, but she finds help from an unexpected source.