Two hundred years after an alien attack cripples Earth, mutations are frequent but Egart's metalskin is unique. The Church-State of Florida exterminates mutants but employs Egart because he's a powerful healer. Individual lives versus purity of race, a precarious balance. En route to becoming a priest, Egart is summoned to heal Kali, his former lover who betrayed him. He cures her, meets Farrell, and learns that the Fall was caused by an alien attack. Surviving a perilous quest for a lightship, Egart bonds with it, reunites with Kali and his long-lost father…but can he rescue Farrell?