Krin Tlento,of the felid Tlartox, finds herself on the run from the bulls of the barendi herd she was hunting. Her radio sabotaged, she has but one option: to face death with honor, as befits one of the People of Tlar, with her fangs in the throat of a barendi bull. In the unlikely event she should survive, her second priority is to retake her ship from the mutineers who left her to die.