The first novel from "one of the leading masters of epic fantasy"--a tale of a place where death holds no sway and heroes are born (Publishers Weekly). Alya has an almost magical talent. Her hunches are never wrong. The scientists of planet 4-I want to use her talent and promise her a spot on the next off-world colonization team in return for her assessment of the potential of the latest worlds they have discovered. But Alya meets Cedric, the grandson of the brilliant and tyrannical director of 4-I, and she begins to doubt her own intuition. Cedric has dreamed of becoming a scout and exploring new worlds, and when he meets Alya, he is more determined than ever to leave 4-I with her. His grandmother needs him on 4-I, though, because she has schemes afoot to protect her planet and to cover up a murder, and she does not intend to let him go. However, she has underestimated her grandson--and the young woman whose intuition is strong and whose destiny is linked to Cedric's.