Oas. A city in the middle of a great desert, yet blessed with an abundance of water. This water is coaxed out of the skies by the Gatherers, an ancient guild of pilots who use barely understood technology to seed the clouds. The rain they bring is collected in Oas' grand system of fountains and distributed throughout the city. In the Caliph's almost forgotten harem, Haran meets and falls in love with Qeemah. Her love forces him to question his path in life-whether to continue on as a puppet of the Vizier or to return to the honorable life as a Gatherer? But when Oas' neighboring city, Entana, loses its only source of water, its Sultan demands that Oas surrender the Gatherers and their technology to him for Entana's use. War looms, and Haran is faced with the awesome responsibility of being Caliph not only in name, but in deed. Confronting the Sultan's army-and the skein of betrayal that brings it to Oas-Haran must decide if he is Gatherer or Caliph…or both.