content: The worst of the Deryini novels by far. I hate to give one of Ms. Kurtz's Deryini novels a bad review because her work has given me great pleasure over the years, but this novel stinks. Any one of her others in the series I'd give a 4 star rating at worst. Even the look of the cover has a look one wouldn't expect from this author--a cheesy romance. She has changed publishers. Could this have anything to do with the turn towards the worse her writing has taken? Normally her novels are serious page-turners for me, keeping me up to all hours of the morning, but I had to force myself over the course of several months to finish this one. If you are a fan go ahead and buy it; if new to the series, don't bother.