Sophie Redding is one of the few humans to have dodged the evacuation of the shapeshifting Sethen. She is on a journey to the Northlands, in a ridiculous outfit and on foot, leaving a trail a mile wide. Commander T'bir is in charge of cleaning out the towns and villages to let his people's city rise from the ground. When a detachment of trackers is unable to capture the human in the red dress, his interest is piqued and he goes on the hunt. Capturing this human may be the tipping point for his people, and her own.