An alien race of winged conquerors rules the Earth. Humans are kept in rigid isolation from each other, except for controlled mating. Only two dare to join forces in an illicit bond of love and revolt. Cave--the last Earthman in Brytan, banished from the crytal-walled city to the desolate mudflats of Hess, where each tide drives the solitary exiles to the refuge of transparent needle-towers. Stella--the beautiful, determined revolutionary, sworn to overthrow Earth's tyrannical, bird-like oppressors, even as she carried a bold and startling secret. Together they flee to the exotic South Seas Islands, where they defy their extraterrestrial masters and explore seductive new worlds of passion. Then, from the stars, from which had come their subjugation, falls hope of rescue--and a brutal, unexpected choice.