In the frozen country of the Trappers, books are hand-copied so that knowledge may be preserved, but the technology described is mostly lost to those furclad hunters. When invaders slaughter most of the Trappers, the small band of survivors heads south, led by a man few of them trust. Holding the remnants of her people together is Doctor Catania Olsen. The journey into the warm lands will change her; mind, heart and soul. She will gain and lose a love, see great wisdom and greater folly, witness amazing miracles and terrifying science, and, most surprising to herself, become a mother. Finally she will have to choose between her people and her freedom.