When a bandit gang seizes High Windward, holding the Storn family hostage, the laran powers of the oldest son Loran are the family's only hope. Reaching out with those powers, he finds a young Terran, Dan Barron, and "overshadows" his mind, sending him on a desperate rescue mission to Aldaran Castle. But the "help" that the powerful Aldaran family offers may be far more dangerous than any bandit. For what they offer is use of the terrible Sharra Matrix—dreaded weapon of the Ages of Chaos.