Wraeththu are the hermaphrodite successors to Mankind, who now control the land. In this, the final volume of Storm Constantine's strangely beautiful trilogy, we are re-introduced to Cal, a pivotal character in the previous books.

Down on his luck, Cal wanders from town to town and finally, in extremity, is forced into becoming a whore to survive. Escaping from the brothel with Panthera, a Wraeththu to whom he has become attached, Cal's journey becomes a rite of passage, always leading towards Immanion, the mystical city, where his old lover Pellaz rules, and the mysterious Thiede waits to pull all the threads of his plans together.