Synopsis: From the dust jacket from flap of the Ace first edition: "Sharon Shinn returns to the planet called Samaria, with a new tale of an earlier time... Legend has it that the original settlers of Samaria were carried there by the loving hands of the god Jovah. To keep the peace, he created a legion of land-dwelling angels, led by an appointed Archangel. Now, two hundred years later, Jovah's latest appointee is the Archangel Gaaron, whose dependability and allegiance to the people of Samaria make him a wise choice. And for Gaaron's life-mate, his Angelica, Jovah has chosen the woman Susannah, of the nomadic Edori tribe. With trepidation, Susannah bows to the will of Jovah. For her heart is still with her people and her Edori lover, faithless though he might be. In the lofty reaches of the Angel Eyrie, an unspoken affection slowly develops between the two. Then word comes to Gaaron of a terrible threat besetting the land - black-clad strangers who call fire down from the sky, leaving death and destruction in their wake. Now what is in the hearts of Archangel and Angelica may never be known, as the very future of the planet hangs in the balance..."