Stranded on Gamorr during slushtime, Callista Ming is part of the crew of the Zicreex. One of the other Gamorrean crew, Guth, is accused of murder, and the rest of them are guilty by association and taken prisoner by a hostile warlord. Callista manages to convince the wife of the slain Vrokk to let her investigate the murder. Callista learns that Guth, a boar, would not likely have poisoned Vrokk as boars are not known for their brilliance. Visiting a local poet, Sebastin Onyx, Callista picks up information on the motive and method of the killer. She and Kufbrug hold a vigil over the room where Vrokk was slain and a kheilwar appears, a nocturnal hunting creature. Callista and Kufbrug fight and corner the kheilwar until it shape-shifts into the others it has seen, which reveals the murderers to be Rog, Vrokk's brother, and Gundruk, Kufbrug's daughter, who had planned on also killing Kufbrug to take over her holdings.