A plume of dust spews out of the mountainside, burying the valley in grey. No one knows what it is. No one knows whether it will stop. The colony watches as the powder grows, and they wait for the elders to decide their fate. But no announcement comes. The members are forced to decide whether to break convention and act on their own or wait for a decision they're not sure will come.

It takes this cataclysmic event for Teka to realize that she wanted independence all along. Tiladon challenges his beliefs about what it takes to be Head-Elder and a father. Desupon is forced to decide whether to continue living by the colony's standards or escape the images of death repeating in her mind. Is this the perfect opportunity for the members to change? Or is it the perfect excuse for them to run from a group they want no part of?