A crippled child seeking courage and identity. An exiled sorceress seeking redemption. A spaceman in an alien’s body, seeking justice: Three quests joined together beneath a moon of three rings. Orphaned, deformed, Farree was a beastmerchant’s slave in a spaceport slum. Suddenly he and his only friend, a venomous hunting pet, Toggor the smux, were released by two strangers: Lady Maelen, the Moon Singer, a psychic, body-stealing sorceress; and Lord-One Krip Vorlund, a telepathic ex-Free Trader. With their encouragement, Farree began to learn self-respect as his limited mental rapport with animals grew into a full mind-touch. But Farree’s freedom brought new perils: Maelen and Krip had earlier stopped the intergalactic Thieves’ Guild from looting Forerunner artifacts, and the pirates had marked them for death. On planet and in space, the three and their beasts repeatedly fought off Guild attacks, as their course led to the planet Yiktor—Maelen’s homeworld, from which she had been exiled by her people, the Thassa mindmasters. But now she had to return: a secret Guild plot centered on Yiktor, the pirates had perfected a mind shield, and the non-technological Thassa might not be able to stop the plundering of their world. Thus, with Farree, Krip and Maelen each helping and protecting the others, the triple quests began. One would lead to success; one to disaster, destruction and terrifying devastation. And one would lead to an incredible transformation, to the emergence of a being whose beauty, grace and power had never before been seen in the galaxy; and to a great—and possibly unsolvable—mystery…