Kari, a young woman, has returned to the jungle planet of Dora after ten years in Earth's schools, determined to unravel the mysteries surrounding the harpies, a misunderstood and vilified species. The harpy resemble creatures out of ancient Earth myth; half-bird and half-human, with graceful human bodies and beautiful and valuable feathered wings.

The human colonist believe harpies are dangerous animals that steal human women. The creatures are hunted like wild game, their brown wings considered trophies. But when Kari was attacked by a giant eel as a child, a male harpy with rare golden wings rescued her. Meeting Shail forever transformed the way Kari thought about harpies.. She cannot believe the rumors that painted them as instinct-driven monsters.

When a group of hunters capture a golden harpy and brings him back as a prize, Kari immediately recognizes Shail. The harpy is wound and on the brink of death, and she is his only hope of survival. Kari and Shail escape into the jungle, but the hunters are right behind them. ON the run, with an injured and flightless Shail in tow and all of humanity against them, Kari must turn to the wild harpies themselves for help.

Tor Books