In the crowded firmament of contemporary fantasists, no star shines brighter than Andre Norton - a dazzlingly inventive crafter of otherworlds and wonders, and past recipient of the World Fantasy Convention's Life Achievement Award. And now the Grandmaster returns with the riveting tale of two courageous young adventurers...and their perilous quest for light.

The blackened and desolate land called the Ryft was once paradise - the magnificent garden of the goddess Lyr. But that was lifetimes ago - before an old and crafty evil descended upon the world. While still a child, Alnosha came to this ruined place of dread and despair. And here, under the loving guidance of the forgotten goddess' last priestess, Alnosha first discovered and honed her extraordinary hand-talent: the ability to divine by touch.

Now another has come to the Ryft - an embittered High Born youth, outlawed and pursued by the villainous servants of a false god. Though he hates and mistrusts all mystical powers, the fugitive Kryn is inexplicably drawn to Alnosha, the Gifted One. And together they embark upon a strange and perilous odyssey that will lead them from the broken lands to the savage city...and into the malevolent heart of an all-consuming darkness.

For ancient hands that once held the bounty of the sun are guiding their every step - shattered hands that Alnosha and her reluctant champion must restore at all costs...or face a hopeless and terrifying future eternally trapped in evil's thrall.