Jeff Kerwin spent the first decade of his life in the Spacemen’s Orphanage in the Terran Trade City on Darkover. Yet he never felt that he belonged. When Jeff is shipped back to Earth at the age of 12, he becomes haunted by dreams of the world surrounding the Terran oasis that had once been his. He is convinced that only on Darkover can he discover his true identity.

Now an adult, Jeff finally returns to Darkover as a member of the Terran Spaceforce. Still, he feels out of place. Despite being mistaken for a member of the Comyn aristocracy with his red hair and possession of a powerful matrix jewel, he has no memory of how he acquired such things. If only he could learn the secrets of the Towers, perhaps then he could hope to solve the mystery of his heritage.