The entire Ystrad royal family was thought to have been massacred during an invasion by their planetary neighbours, but when evidence emerges that one of the family may have survived, agent David Held is despatched to find and protect the royal heir.

Denied his usual array of hi-tech equipment, he is forced to seek the help of an outcast prince determined to unite his people and reclaim their ancestral homeland.

As the fates of the two young heirs become increasingly intertwined, can the race to find the one, help to fulfil the ambitions of the other? Or will both be destroyed by a ruthless enemy who has no qualms about bringing advanced warfare to a pre-industrial society?