Merculian is usually a peaceful world of artistic, fun-loving and sensual hermaphrodites. The planet has always been safe, most Merculians blissfully unfamiliar with the dark powers that lurk beneath the surface of familiar things.

The trouble starts when the aliens arrive. Celebrity dancer Triani picks up a mysterious Terran male in the Pleasure Gardens, and an Ultraati rope dancer dies. Seemingly unrelated, these two events unleash powerful forces that disrupt the lives of everyone around him. Secrets from his carefully hidden past boil to the surface, flooding him with fear. When his beloved Giazin is threatened, he risks his life to save his child. Yet the mysterious group known as the Watchers will not let go. Can Triani free himself from the grip of these formidable beings or will they force him to betray his human lover?