Regis Hastur was the heir to the most powerful domain on Darkover. When his grandfather, already elderly and in fragile health, died, he would inherit the title Hastur of Hastur, Regent of Darkover--king in everything but name. But ironically, this mantle was the last thing Regis had ever wanted. As a boy he had spent many hours staring from the confines of ancient Comyn Castle to the gleaming modern buildings and vessels of the Terran Zone spaceport, dreaming of travel to strange worlds and faraway planets. But it was a time of change for Darkover, for the Terran Empire was reconfiguring itself into a Federation, and Darkover's long ruling Comyn Council had been destroyed by the murders perpetrated by the Terran organization known as the World Wreckers.