When Elliss fails to return from his hunting trip, Aleena must make the transition from her village culture to that of space traveler. Her search takes her into the world of the Protectorate whose subjugation and manipulation of many cultures stands in start contrast to her upbringing. Her adventures take her to encounters with space ghosts, telepathic sand diggers, and automated space cultures while Elliss experiences his own adventures with the Protectorate ViNarians, a race of unemotional space raiders.