The most dangerous matrix on all Darkover was the legendary Sharra. Embodied in the image of a chained woman, wreathed in flames, it was the last remaining weapon of the Age of Chaos that had almost destroyed civilization on the planet of the Bloody Sun.

The Sharra had been exiled off-planet among the far stars of the Terran Empire in the custody of Lew Alton ... until he found himself called back to his homeworld to contest his rights.

But once the Sharra was back, the flaming image spread far and wide—and set in motion events that were to change the land, the domains, and the future of Darkover forever.