A few months have gone by since the events in Changer and times they are a-changing. Arthur is forced to cope without either of his strong right hands. Eddie has taken off for Africa with his good friend Anson A. Kridd. Vera is experimenting with life as a mermaid in uncharted ocean realms. Shahrazad the coyote pup - now confirmed as athanor, although her ultimate potential remains unknown - is taken by her father, the Changer, to Frank MacDonald's Other Three Quarters ranch. To her father's dismay, she shows no sign of acquiring the caution she needs if she is to survive. Meanwhile, aware that Arthur's firm control of the Accord has been weakened, various forces seek to take advantage. Some - like Lilith, Tommy Thunderburst and the satyrs - merely wish to assert the right to mingle with humanity, but others have far more ambitious - and sinister - motives. In Nigeria, someone representing himself as Shopona, God of Smallpox, has released his scourge into the city of Monamona. Confronting him is a woman who says she is Oya, an ancient and powerful goddess. Is Oya athanor or something else entirely? Certainly she is playing fast and loose with the secret that is the heart of Arthur's Accord and is not to be entirely trusted. And what of the wind that encases Monamona in a protective grasp that is also a prison? In the end, even the Changer must take sides - leaving Shahrazad, his wildly unpredictable daughter, to find her strengths without his ancient wisdom to guide her.