Raised by a human, Heyoka Blackeagle thinks like a human, even if he is a typical hrinn - seven feet tall, covered with fur, retractable claws. In the war against the insect like flek, Heyoka distinguished himself in the Ranger Corps. Now, on a planet from which the flek have been driven, hes leading a group of humans and hrinn, trying to prove that hrinn can make proficient rangers in spite of their disdain for following orders. Then a hidden, fully functional flek star gate is found, ready to transport flek hordes. And word comes of a flek advance. The planet must be evacuated, but rather than abandon his team in the jungle, Heyoka stays behind, only to find that his human partner Mitsu, once a flek POW, is hallucinating, seeing nonexistent flek. And then the real flek arrive...