In the first book of "The Stone Dance of the Chameleon" trilogy, young Carnelian has spent his entire life alone with his father, who years ago rejected the Masters' cruel ways and was banished. But the Masters now beg Carnelian's father to return to oversee the election of a new God Emperor. On the way to Osrakum, Carnelian sets in motion the concluding events in a story 4,000 years old.