Ulric pursues Adahy, Elise and Jim through the pathway. Can Calia reunite with her family while the ominous threat of the Tree Men hovers like a cloud over her future happiness with Philip? Or will Vaughn press his advantage? Forces gather together in a calculated assault to thwart the Rite of the Select and assert Ulric's authority as First Species. His role as Alpha of the Tree is more complex than anyone ever guessed. When Jim embraces a selfless act, it compromises whatever future he thought he could have. The trees offer a hiatus from the turmoil that Adahy, Philip and the females desperately need to avoid, but Jim finds that the violence of his world follows them all into this one. Can Jim ever return to his natural form? Will he see earth again, or will he be forever tied to the Tree?