Father Cole, a Colonist and faithless priest on a clandestine drunken sabbatical, is ill-prepared for Iliana, a Native escort in the wicked city of Adara Vega, the last city under Native control and the last bastion of sin on this colonized world. Cole has been taught to despise the Natives but he and Iliana enter into a tenuous friendship after she saves his life. Their personal discoveries lead to political intrigue as it seems the Colonists finally have what they always wanted: the means to destroy the Natives. Can Iliana and Cole evade the Colonist's plans and convince the Native elders of the looming danger? Or could still deeper machinations be at work - a sinister defense where Iliana is the unwitting key?