ðə sˈɛntɹəl kˈæɹɪktɚz fɹʌmðə fˈɜːst bˈʊk ɹᵻtˈɜːn: vˈeɪnt, ɐn æmbˈɪʃəs jˈɪleɪn, ænd kˈɛɹɪk, ˈeɪ "ˈʌstuːzˌuː" ðə jˈɪleɪn wˈɜːd fɔːɹ mˈæməl hˌuː wʌz kˈæptʃɚd baɪ ðə jˈɪleɪn æz ɐ bˈɔɪ, ɹˈeɪzd æz ɐ jˈɪleɪn, ænd ᵻvˈɛntʃuːəli ɛskˈeɪps tə ɹᵻdʒˈɔɪn hɪz ˈoʊn pˈiːpəl ænd bˈɜːn ðə jˈɪleɪn kˈɑːləni sˈɪɾi.
The central characters from the first book return: Vaintè, an ambitious Yilanè, and Kerrick, a "ustuzou" (the Yilanè word for mammal) who was captured by the Yilanè as a boy, raised as a Yilanè, and eventually escapes to rejoin his own people and burn the Yilanè colony city.