Bybiis the scholar helps Opin the healer to escape the control of Utica’s khalif who wants to turn Opin’s gift to his purposes. They are shipwrecked near a village where Dr. Greensboro is conducting research for vaccines and exploring the ruins of a lost city. Hershel Henry is visiting there and helps Jesse Hartley return to her life of privilege.
Later Henry travels to the neighboring planet of Cicero to investigate the fates of conscripts from Earth. He and Jesse connect as lovers, but the union is uneasy. When Henry travels to Stargate Junction to report on the investigation, he realizes that Jesse has betrayed him.