Missionary Althea Merrick, fleeing from an unwanted marriage to a Viagens official, joins a scientist and poet en route to a utopian Terran colony on the island of Zesh, where she becomes embroiled in the affairs of some peculiarly intelligent aborigines.
Althea Merrick, a missionary escaping an arranged marriage to a Viagens official, joins a scientist and poet on their journey to a utopian colony on Zesh, where she becomes entangled in the affairs of some unusually intelligent indigenous people.