Marrula Tamara, once Empress of Worlds, has been exiled to a planet called Strand. Centuries have passed, and her fellow exiles and their mortal children have spread across the land. Humanity has grown and prospered on this new world, but Marrula desires only revenge. In the city of Bralle, she clings with an iron fist to her immortality, her rule, and her formidable psychic powers.
In remote Tarlannat Hold, deadly time storms herald the birth of a truly exceptional child, none other than Marrula's great-granddaughter Nikkolue. Finally, what Marrula has sought for mortal lifetimes has come: power strong enough to rival her own. By invading the troublesome child's mind from afar, filling her dreams with visions of glistening cities and eternal life, she will ensure the girl's loyalty. With Nikkolue's power at her command, Marrula will at last be able to return to her lost life in the celestial Empire.
The fingers of her influence have spun a web of fear and enemies. How can mere mortals, even the descendants of an eternal queen, hope to thwart a woman who can bend time itself to her will?
