Seventeen-year-old Casey Rollins?s whole life changes in just one night when a detective comes to her home to tell her of her parents? death.
The year is 2405, and the government is very strict about children living with a proper guardian until they are eighteen. Their solution is to send Casey to her aunt, whom she did not know she had, that lives on the planet Norslata, which she did not know existed, as Earth?s liaison.
Norslata is a beautiful planet?a lot like Earth?but Casey is surprised to learn that life there is like a throwback to the old colonial days of Earth: the style of dress, no electricity, running water, or any other modern conveniences that Casey as grown up with on Earth. As Casey and her aunt travel by carriage to the City of Arles, she learns that living on the planet are six different intelligent species: the Awsorthians, K?valens, Imathians, Ruthians, Timates, and the Griffons.
As Casey comes to terms with the loss of her parents, she finds a new life on Norslata with family, friends, and love. She develops the gift of dream sharing and must be adopted into the K?valen race to be taught to control it. Then she has to travel to the top of the Arana Mountains to save Sheetala Tahki, a Griffon, whom she has never met in person.
In the end, Casey agrees to return to the Griffon city, Ayo, with Sheetala and learn all that she can from the Griffon people. She realizes that she has come to love the planet Norslata and all that it holds and wishes to learn all that she can about it; all in hope that one day she may become her aunt?s replacement as liaison.