A spellbinding tale of a tradition-bound centuries-old Earth Colony and the visitor who offers a magic drug that tears down the walls between men's souls. Winner of the Nebula Award for best novel.

Three thousand years after Earth's colonisation of the planet Borthan, stories of self-serving hypocrisy that occured among the first arrivals have bred a culture that forbids emotional sharing and denies the naturally human concept of 'self'. The result is a lasting peace, but at a terrible price. For it is a peace without love, without self, where even the mention of the word 'I' is taboo.

Spurred on by the arrival of an Earthman with a self-baring drug, Kinnall Darival breaks the strict code of the Covenant to record the sordid details of his rebelious life from the days of his royal youth to self-appointed prophet of love. He begins his account with the greatest of heresies:

'I am Kinnall Darival and I mean to tell you all about myself.'

Winner of the Nebula Award for best novel.