This story is the prequel to the Eoss trilogy. It is about a servitor mare that a chaos magician creates, the resourceful Heather, and the magician's grand vision of life and magic as a chessboard. The chaos Goddess Eris is one of the characters.
Three young flatmates seek help from the servitors, and we see them through Heather's eyes as they grapple with the threat of being homeless. Heather learns and grows, and comes to realise what kind of life she wants. She is the first in a line of similar entities and the Eoss Trilogy recounts the adventures of her successors Eoss and Clexa.