Raised by a human, Heyoka Blackeagle thinks like a human, even if he is a typical hrinn - seven feet tall, covered with fur, and equipped with retractable claws. In the war against the insectlike flek, Heyoka distinguished himself in the Ranger Corps. Now, on a planet from which the flek have been driven, he’s leading a group of humans and hrinn, trying to prove that hrinn can make proficient rangers in spite of their disdain for following orders.

But first a fully functional flek stargate is found hidden in a cave, ready to transport the flek hordes back in an instant. Then, word comes that the battle lines in space have been pushed back and the planet must be abandoned. Rather than abandon his group in the jungle, Heyoka stays behind, only to find that his human partner Mitsu, once a flek POW, seems to be hallucinating, seeing flek where there are none.