Drastic environmental changes on the planet of Little Blue have affected the gender balance in the human population. With women outnumbering men 12 to 1, the world's peacekeeping force is now almost exclusively female. This novel, in the first of the Earthkeep trilogy, examines the nature of violence and peace, its dualism within the human heart, and the manner in which this relationship must be healed by both worldly and otherworldly influences.