Kidona tribe has been reduced to a bunch of derelicts living on a reservation due to the actions of the Gernian government. Dewara also blames Nevare for being seduced by Tree Woman and destroying the Spindle, the source of Kidona magic. Nevare's betrothal to Carsina, though informal, is cancelled. After his fruitless attempts to lose weight, Nevare is locked away by his father and his meals regulated. However, while Nevare is locked away, a plague ravages the Widevale Estate, killing many, including his mother, eldest sister and brother Rosse. Nevare and his sister Yaril survive and run the estate while their father is in mourning, but when their father recovers, he banishes and disowns Nevare. Nevare travels east toward the remote outpost Gettys. On the way, he stops at a small settlement called "Dead Town" and helps a widow, Amzil, and her three children by doing odd jobs to make their lives easier, in exchange he gets to eat and sleep there. Nevare wants to win Amzil's trust, but she finds it hard to trust men, having had to work as a prostitute to feed herself and her children. One day, a wounded cavalla scout named Buel Hitch reaches the town and asks Nevare's assistance in getting to Gettys, to which Nevare agrees. As they leave, he uses his dormant Speck magic to create a bountiful vegetable garden for Amzil, and his Speck self comes closer to the surface. On their journey to Gettys, Nevare realises that Hitch is in a similar position to his: he is a tool of the Speck magic also. The Gernian goal of building a highway through the forest is being blocked by Speck magic. He enlists in the army there, but only as a lowly cemetery guard, a far cry from his former goal of a cavalla officer. He works very hard and the colonel is thinking about promoting him. After a while he meets two Specks, a girl named Olikea and her father. Olikea brings Nevare food that satisfies the magic that runs through his veins. He is getting pulled between two worlds, the Gernian world and the Specks' magical forests. He does not know where to settle down and he does not wish to betray his own people. Nevare's reputation is damaged by his gross appearance and his attempts to talk to his ex-fiancee Carsina, who has moved to Gettys with her