In this barbaric land ruled by men, women are meant only to serve. But Terril, an empathic agent from an advanced interstellar society, owes her first allegiance to her masters from the stars and can never be completely ruled by any man, not even Tammad, the barbarian lord she has come to love. Yet when Terril joins Tammad on a rescue expedition to the distant female-dominated city of Vediaster, neither she nor Tammad can foresee that they are riding straight into a trap that may claim both their lives. Will Terril's rapidly growing skills of both body and mind prove powerful enough to meet the deadly challenge of the tyrant of Vediaster?