At sixteen, Torren was violently torn from his family and his people and left for dead, a cripple in more ways than one. For the next few years, he traveled alone, making few friends. Then, one night, a terrified young woman fleeing for her life stumbles into his camp, and his life once again takes new direction. As he reluctantly takes responsibility for getting her to safety, his past comes back to haunt him in a way that is painfully ironic. Against both his will and his better judgment, he must return to the place he had thought lost to him forever if he is to make good on his promise to keep his charge safe from harm.