"Mother? There was no reply. She hadn't expected one. Her mother had been dead, now, for four days, and Kira could tell that the last of the spirit was drifitng away...Now she was all alone."
Lame from birth and recently orphaned, Kira must survive alone in brutish population, where the weak are discarded. With a twisted leg, she seems useless in a world that values strength. Ostracized by the village women because of her deformity, she goes to see the Council of Guardians to discover if she will live or die. Saved and given a purpose in life, Kira is ordered to restore the society's most valuable possession. She must repair a symbolic robe that is vital to the history of her people. As Kira works on the robe, she slowly comes to realize that not all is as it seems. On her quest to discover the truth about her world and to find out what exists beyond the lies she has known. Kira takes her future into her own hands and risks everything. Her decisions will alter the lives of everyone.