"In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration...but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city...set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her...Her ship carries one passenger...Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny"--.