Trouble was coming–the elements weren't where they should be, a baby was born deaf and then there was Ro.The Vitae-hearer drew the flower from her healing bag. "No wood-stars should flower in this season–it's beautiful, but it doesn't belong. Ro, nothing can survive where it does not belong."And Ro has never belonged. Born without the ability to feel the elements as her fellow Iyessi villagers do, she creates discord. Now her niece has been born deaf, and she is to blame. Exiled before she can do more harm, Ro and her family set out for Najarind city in search of a cure, but discord follows them. Accused of murder, hunted and betrayed, they find themselves caught up in the eternal struggle between the Dragon and the Worm. If legends are to be believed, it seems that only Ro and a baby stand between the world and destruction.