Strange cosmic powers have awakened in young Arol, a junior assistant at the Sacred Temple in the capital city of his war-torn homeland of Gennebar. Seeking to understand and to control these powers, he goes to study with the elder cosmically gifted sage, Bernarro. Too soon he is thrust into the maelstrom of conflict and war when his mother is sold into slavery by a corrupt tax collector. Enraged, Arol decides to join the forlorn rebellion, the Zemaki, against his country's oppressors, the rapacious Drenarian Empire. But first he accompanies Bernarro on a quest to find and free his mother. In the market of Gennebar's port, he chances into Lissande, a courtesan in the Drenarian Viceroy's court. There Lissande is discovered by angry pursuers from the Viceroy's household. Moved by her plight, and drawn to her beauty, Arol comes to her rescue. But dire choices confront Lissande when she returns to the Viceroy's house, and she decides on a bloody leavetaking with Arol. In Lissande's company, Arol reunites with his best friend Zorn who has already joined the rebellion, and his lover, the rebel leader Senasha. Arol and his new comrades must depend on his untested abilities as they risk all to strike a brilliant blow against the Drenarian occupation.