Aaron and Kim return to the city where Aaron gives up his power and vows to use his money for a new cause. Armand and Faith reunite in luxury where Faith reveals a secret while enjoying her newfound power over her husband. Patton fights for his new position and his woman. Brenda Montpass comes clean to Aaron, revealing her true self, her past, and her desires. Amanda's involvement with her is also revealed. For the first time ever Aaron finally feels at peace with himself and his decisions as he and Brenda face a future together. Elsewhere, Lioth has her own journey's to travel as she comes to grips with her wild Talent curse. To help her she has the God given aid of a nameless, toungeless and much abused one-time slave who bears the Lady's blessing.

Aaron divorces Melna and punishes Harvest Patton in a surprising way before leaving the city to confront Prophet personally, bringing his Zisst boosted One God aura with him. Faith and Brenda get mad and Prophet is somewhat disapointed with the results. Kim confronts her father, Clack. Delmac takes a rather violent hand with unhappy results for most everyone involved except maybe Kim.

His city besieged, Aaron confronts Patton about sleeping with Melna. instead of anger, he makes a surprising move. Heralda is called by the One God. Brenda is undone by Prophet. Armand is put in a very uncomfortable position which leaves him leading the charge against New Beginning. Aaron's forethought comes in handy.

Brenda Montpass mostly explains herself to Armand and Faith, the reason she is interested in Aaron and why she has the steel balls, and even about murdering her husband. Armand is hoist on his own petard in regards to flirting with other women, or worse, giving Faith a thoughly strong hand in their verbal sparing. Lioth is now completely disillusioned with war and with Han Chuk, her one time idol. Her feelings for Delmac grow, and Martha Hines takes matters into her own hands.

Defying, well, everybody, Amanda enters the cave, drawing Aaron's anger. However, she brought a bunch of interesting rocks out with her, one's very important to Chin, and the world. These rocks are not Talent Stones, exactly. Instead, they interact with male Talent in a strange way. Too much can kill them, but a little provides a miracle in this male starved world. It provides men with the chance to create healthy male children...but it takes a bit to get there. The cave is raided by just about every female. Amanda is sent home, shaking her head because Aaron has not met somebody she thought he should have by now. Aaron has a chat with Chet and Bret about thier mother.

Aaron changes his mind on asking Martha Hines, the assassin, a favor. He was going to have her kill Clack but decided assassination is wrong. Martha is disgusted, pointing out that not killing Clack could mean thousands of lives.  Missy and Kim have both thrown away their Talent Stones so they can be closer to the One God. Missy and Aaron have a long talk, again. In the morning Aaron meets with a representative from Nefra who basically begs Aaron not to beat up on them. Please give them time with their new rulers to straighten up and abolish slavery. Aaron agrees, rather confused about the entire matter, not seeing himself as the danger they percieve. It is revealed that Martha is the new ruler's sister.

Depressed by his generalship, Ard Chuk thinks he is about to be demoted by Aaron. Instead, Aaron orders him to bring all Aaron's troops to New Beginning. Delmac and Lioth's relationship grows deeper as they reflect on their own shortcomings on an evening, bringing them to a realization of their love. Delmac's sleep is interrupted by Lioth's hand on his shoulder, followed by Lioth ghosting into the woods. She soon arrows some intruders. She did not do enough. Inside the camp, wagons explode, yells sound, and people die. In Aaron's encampment Melna enjoys a good bit of love making, falls asleep, and wakes to Aaron's touch. Unfortunately, Aaron was not her lover. Harvest Patton was. Strangely, Aaron does not seem angry. Instead, all she feels from his is a wave of love, the influence in him of the One God.

Lioth watches from a distance while Prophet preaches. Armand and Faith are hard pressed not to become true believers due to Prophet's Talent. After, in private, Prophet questions his most fervent followers, some of whom had once been main conspiritors, most of which group is now dead, maimed (Leo Khante), or fled. He expounds on his plans to soon rule several kingdoms. Meanwhile, out with the milling crowd of crusaders, Brenda Montpass encounters Armand and Faith in a compromising position, him tying her to a tree, a gag in her mouth. Amused, Brenda passes on two small steel balls to help them fight Prophet's influence. Faith's gag is removed, needed only to keep her from confessing she and Armand are spies. As said before, Brenda is also spying, but for who and why we do not know. 

Despising his weak leadership, Aaron flees to N'Ark where he gets drunk in a bar and is badly beaten in a fight he chose. Gravely damaged, his hand a crippled claw, he wakes in a hospital where his real faults and strengths are explained to him by Karen Dandlege, by his son Chase, and by his personal psychologist, Felicity Stromburg. Through this Aaron realizes his problem is that he cares too much, if there is such a thing. He loves too much. He even loves Melna, his distant and too cool wife. After absorbing a second Zisst, Aaron begins emitting that love, which makes meeting his two sons, Chet and Bret, for the first time in close to forever a bit strange. Coming to a realization of his strengths instead of his weaknesses, Aaron arrives upon a plan.

Sad times after the debacle. Aaron sits with his war council and accepts all blame for the failure when he is attacked by them. Missy attacks back, showing how the council members had ignored their responsibilities. Arguments ensue, ending when Missy admits to emptying all their bank accounts after realizing they were putting more money in than Aaron paid them. Most of the council are in Clack's pocket. A fight occurs where one unbribed member, Martha Hines, helps subdue or kill the traitors. It then turns out Martha was also there to betray Aaron...by killing him. She is a highly ranked assassin who had only waited for the right time, but then changed her mind because she felt he was in the right. She asks Aaron to reform her with all his other captured assassins. Later on, Aaron prays for the soul of Sammual Aybarra, turns clumsey about it, and finally asks his god to send Aybarra off to the god of their home world. He is answered with the knowledge that in all the worlds in all the universes there is only One God.