When war broke out on the planet Harmony, the Oversoul of that colonized world selected the family of Wetchik to carry it back to long-lost Earth. Now the tribe is ready at last to take a ship to the stars, but from the beginning there has been bitter dispute between Wetchik’s sons, Nafai and Elemak. On board the starship Basilica, the children of the tribe will become pawns in the struggle for control of reclaimed Earth. Each faction is making secret plans to awaken the children early from the cold-sleep capsules in which they will pass the decades-long journey, hoping to gain years of influence on their minds and win their loyalty. But the Oversoul is truly in control of this journey, and only the son who wears the cloak of the starmaster really understands what this will mean to all their plans for the future.