Diam isn't happy with his nomadic life on Gallia and wishes for better. When a new colony ship arrives from Earth he is at first intrigued by what the Newcomers have to offer, but when his sister becomes ill as a result of a virus in the soil disturbed by the new colonists, Diam learns why his people became nomads in the first place. A tarot reading by the village witch sends him to find a way to force the Newcomers to leave Gallia before anyone else gets sick.
Diam doesn't count on hurting himself or falling in love with Justina, the new colony's doctor as a result. The passion they stir in each other reaches beyond the barriers of language and background to bring them together but even with their new love they can't ignore their people's fate.
The judgment card in Diam's tarot reading promised success, but it is Diam and Justina's judgment and skill that will be needed if all of the Gallians, new and old, are to have the life they deserve.