Esmay Suiza and Brun Meager should be friends -- they're both bright,
brave, likeable and adventurous. But true friendship doesn't run any
smoother than true love. Brun thinks Esmay's a stuck-up prig, and Esmay
thinks Brun's a spoiled rich brat who's making a play for Barin Serrano,
Esmay's first love. So when Brun fails into the hands of a repressive
religious militia movement, Esmay finds herself in disgrace, suspected
of conniving at the capture. Even Barin has turned against her, and
Brun's powerful family doesn't want Esmay anywhere near the rescue
attempt. Meanwhile, Brun has to figure out how to survive on a planet
where female captives are surgically muted to keep them from
contaminating others. Her luck may have run out, but her courage hasn't
-- she's determined to free not only herself, but other, younger
captives. This burst of initiative imperils her own rescue, and it will
take double her own luck to save her.
