The renegades were the misfits, the outcasts and the murderers united by Thella, Lady Holder of Telgar. They began a reign of terror as they moved from theft and murder to vicious and insane revenge.

Led by Masterharper Robinton and F'lar and Lessa, the people of Pern excavate the ancient remains of the planet's original settlement and uncover the colonists' voice-activated artificial intelligence system.

Five episodes in the history of Pern, from the very first space survey recommending colonization, to the last, where the early world, its young dragon culture undetected, is condemned to be isolated in space. Anne McCaffrey has won both the Hugo and Nebula awards.