In a world that’s part paradise and part hell, two opposing tribes are divided by the most dangerous impulse of all: desire For years, the Varekai and Elikai tribes have each struggled in their own ways to survive against the elements, hunger and the deadly creatures of Eden. For just as many years, they have adhered to one rule: never make contact. The resourceful Varekai are called female. And the Elikai? A mysterious, animal breed called male. When an adventurous Elikai brother is caught stealing from the enemy, a beautiful, inquisitive Varekai healer, the rules keeping the two tribes apart begin to matter less and less. Stranded together in a perilous land, a curious instinct draws Varekai and Elikai closer together than their world has ever dared. And nothing will ever be the same.