A young Terasil female once again enters the Antares Cluster accompanied by Galle Qualls. They seek a rare Calara Shimmering and a mysterious race, the Worm-eaters: their bone yard hides a deadly secret. These two aliens can help the Galla Qualls avoid extinction. On her own she is attacked by a blood-sucking Stabasade; She-male Yarbies and has to outwit a Symator, a large predatory cat in the process of evolving into a humanoid; is hunted by Malisaraptors. But first she and the Fairy Queen have to deal with a Sillian, a much feared alien that can only ingest putrid flesh!