Margot is a young farm girl, whose isolated but happy rural existence is shattered by a sudden, vicious attack from space, in which her home is destroyed, and her grandparents, with whom she had been living, are killed. She knows she must find her grandparents' only friends, the Armallings, who live across the ocean in Aryx City. She must survive a lonely trip, facing the wild beasts of the area, to the town of Newport, only to find herself destitute on the streets in the abandoned quarter. Here, living with the street children, she must learn the skills necessary to survive in a harsh uncaring world. Now a young adult, she meets her friends, and with the help of their son, Eric, she must evade the treachery of agents from off-world and set out on a search which will take her across the galaxy in search of her true identity. But time is of the essence, as she learns that only she can overcome the murderous machinations of three feuding families and head off the impending war with Earth.