Gastel Etzwane had held total power in the Land of Shant: the brooding musician, turned man of action with his corps of Brave Free Men, rid his land of slavery and alien invaders in one master ful stroke—only to discover the greatest threat of all; the Asutra—alien parasites of inconceivable intelligence and unfathomable purpose. Their expulsion from Shant has been celebrated by all, but Etzwane is uneasy. For wild rumors come out of the hidden land of Caraz—and once again the musician must don the cloak of action, setting out on a dangerous quest for knowledge that will take him farther than he ever wanted to go: to the grim reaches of a hideously alien world, there to learn the secret of the Asutra.