Lost, pursued by hostile aliens, his ship disabled, Commodore Abraham Briggs has one last hope. Beneath him lies a strangely beautiful world.From it he may refuel his ship, find his bearings, and plot his course home.But the Ecolog, masked ruler of a feudal empire, has other plans . . . and on this remote and contradictory planet, she is omnipotent!A thrilling science fiction novel from the author of Then Beggars Could Ride and TimeQuest.