Salika has grown up on her own with her sand dog, Saluk, at her side. Foraging in the sands and stealing in the city, she finally gets caught and pays the penalty. Death.

Thrown into the sand pit, she faces a certain demise until her sand dog comes to her rescue.

She finds the only stranger on her world who can take her away and demonstrates her ability to move sand. As a talent, she is just what the recruiter is looking for.

Salika is as surprised as everyone around her when her talent turns out to be electrical in nature and entirely under her control.