In the far distant future Vali Hallsdottir, assassin for an organisation known as the Skald, is sent on a secret mission to the world of Nhem. Her assignment is to eliminate the destructive patriarchal regime of the Hierolath. But shortly after her arrival, Vali finds herself betrayed by her mission partner, who is not the man he seems. Frey, once Vali's lover, has undergone a genetic transformation and has his own agenda for travelling to Nhem. After Valis' escape from the clutches of the Hierolath's militia, she is determined to go in search of Frey in order to discover the reasons for his betrayal.

Shaken by her grandfather's death, Chance Matthews isn't in the mood to deal with a strange girl with alabaster skin who knows things about Chance that she can't possibly know. The girl speaks of being charged by an angel to battle monsters and claims she cannot do it alone. She says she needs Chance's help. Chance doesn't believe in angels - or monsters. But among the artefacts left by her geologist grandparents there lies a fossil of a creature that couldn't possibly have ever existed.