The child Alanna has declared her allegiance to the Missionaries--a religious sect dedicated to perpetuating the sacred image of humanity throughout the universe. But although she loved and respected her stepparents, who had rescued her from a savage life in the wilderness and taught her to be human, she had never really been one of them. And when a deadly plague forces the Missionaries to abandon Earth and flee to a strange planet inhabited by warring tribes of aliens, Alanna finds herself torn by conflicting loyalties. For the Missionaries soon join forces with the Garkohn tribe, while Alanna is strangely attracted to the ways of their enemies, the Tehkohn--and to their mysterious leader.