Years after a meteor destroys much of Veyrdel, Rohan is teaching in a makeshift classroom when he and his students are attacked. The Niveti, the ruling class, are carnivores, and when food grew scarce, they turned on Rohan's kind, the Bihlan. The woman who attacks them is Princess Alataea, now mentally and physically scarred and reduced to killing her subjects for food.After taking her life, Rohan leaves his few remaining students, determined to fix things. The time machine his father built is untested, but Rohan is past caring.It sends him back much further than he intended.Realizing he has a chance to warn everyone about the meteor, Rohan enlists help, and finds it in unlikely places: his father's friend Xavierre, who seems more interested in women than in the mission; Alataea's handservant Maia; and the Princess herself.Reluctantly drawn to Alataea, Rohan tries to ignore his feelings and focus on finding a safe world to relocate to. The plan is complicated when they find themselves trapped on a ship with a murderous spy sent by the King, leaving Rohan to wonder if his desperate plan really has saved them, or just made everything worse.