Sira, a clanswoman, finds herself on a strange planet. She's alone, cold and wet. She has no idea who she is or where she is. She feels only one compulsion: go to the ship. She doesn't know what it means. She joins forces with Captain Morgan, an independent space trader who would fit in well in the Star Wars universe. He helps her find herself--literally. They are pursued by police, the Clan (a telepathic race), and an evil man. Ultimately, she realizes that her worst enemies are those she is closest to.

The characters are vaguely interesting. Morgan is a cut above the standard Han-Solo-esque space cowboy. He is compassionate and deeply loyal to his friends. Although he doesn't do so in the book, I kept imagining him reading Shakespeare or Browning when he wasn't working on his ship. He is serious, thoughtful, considerate -- and boring

[Not that all serious, thoughtful, considerate men are boring, just this one].

Sira is very flat throughout the first part of the novel. She has no history, and her character is left undeveloped until the end of the book. The book just left me a little cold. In fact, I almost put it aside. But then I got to page 172*. On page 172, some real conflict develops between Sira and Morgan, and between Morgan and the Clan. From there on the plot picked up and I enjoyed the second half quite a bit. I wish Czerneda had concentrated on this second half of the story and eliminated the amnesia bit.

The only truly annoying thing about the book was that it definately falls into what I call the "aliens with strange sexual practices that humans misunderstand" sub-genre. This is generally not my favorite kind of science fiction, not because I'm a prude, but because it usually does not contribute to the plot. Czerneda avoids the titalation-value of this device and makes it an integral part of the story.

I give the book a 0, not because there was anything glaringly wrong with it, but because it just didn't engage me.