Of lovers and kings and monstrous things. In one country a woman can have many husbands and infidelity may result in death. In the other country a man can marry as many women as he can hold. Generations of war have resulted in a delicate balance between two countries alike in determination to survive. When the earthquake opens a pass in mountains surrounding the world, a new country awash in riches and potential is revealed to the warring Sarnese and Llweganians. Each combatant society rushes to control this country where monogamy is the written and winked at rule. Just as mountains can rise and crumble so can countries and cultures. People untried by life discover what they can do and the choices they can make. Through the vast landscape of three ecosystems and years of earth scorching war individuals will rise to the challenge of a new way of living and some will fall off the trail into the new chasms created by the shifting of the world. Everything is at risk. Marriages, cultures, and thrones are up for grabs. Warriors, courtiers, priests and peasants battle to secure a future, to define a culture, to rule the world.