Carson Napier sets out intending to reach Mars, but a navigational miscalculation sends his spacecraft toward Venus instead, where he discovers Amtor, a strange world of gigantic trees, exotic creatures, and the displaced civilization of Vepaja, whose former homeland has been seized by the revolutionary Thorists. Carson falls in love with Duare, the princess of Vepaja, but rigid social customs keep her beyond his reach, while his friendship with Kamlot draws him aboard the pirate ship Sofal and into mutiny, warfare, and growing conflict with Thorist enemies. As Carson struggles across the unfamiliar seas and political divisions of Amtor, his fight for survival becomes increasingly bound to his determination to protect Duare and resist those who threaten her, opening the way for the larger adventures of the Venus series.
