A human slave to the overlords of the Catteni race, Kristin Bjornsen is forced to participate in colonization attempts on a newly discovered planet and is surprised to learn that one of her fellow colonists is a man from her past

Masterharper Robinton, born in a time when no Thread has fallen on Pern for centuries, is subjected to threats, exile, and rejection when he refuses to stop believing in the power of his music or the need for dragons to protect the planet from the danger of the deadly spores.