Trapped between two peoples Erik Tarverro is a half-breed raised as a smith in the human city of Vidran. Hounded for his mixed blood and denied mastery in his craft, he leaps at the chance to join his father's people in the Sky City of Newport. There, he learns he is the only heir of an ancient and noble line. His father's name opens doors and gathers allies, but Erik must still struggle to understand both this strange new culture and his place within it. Fate will deny him a peaceful understanding, though, as the clouds of war gather - and his father's enemies have laid their eyes upon his City in the Sky.