A radiant jewel of great power has mysteriously crossed the galaxy and fallen into Oceanus, to be swallowed by a drowning boy, who is instantly transformed to a dolphin. This jewel of transformation inside the body of the boy-dolphin continues to radiate its power and by dolphin sonar it is known to the Guardians of the dolphin colony. However, they must teach the miraculous transformation how to survive the ocean so they may study the mystery of what he is and how he came to be there and why. This immense, radiating power within the transformation will also attract three eccentric dolphins, who, contrary to the altruistic efforts of the colony, seek to control the jewel's power for personal reasons. Lirias the half-blind cynic, because it heals his blindness, even as he discovers its darker, addictive aspects; Nania, his daughter, who remains loyal to the colony, despite her commitment to the visionary world, as she helps nurture the confused transformation in his struggles both with his new body and with the augmenting power of the jewel; and Talella, Nania's visionary teacher, who is determined to make the jewel's power her own.