Three hundred years in the future, mankind still is trying to survive the Great Collision that changed the earth forever. People live in pockets of civilization called compounds, battling the elements and the mutations which have developed over the centuries, trying to live and survive day by day. Yulen D'Jacques is the Battle Lord of Alta Novis. His duty is to keep his compound and his people safe, which means yearly sweeps of the area to remove any mutated men and animals from encroaching. Atrilan Ferran is Mutah, a mutant warrior and huntress trained to protect and defend her home from Cleaners, the "normals" who invade the forests to slaughter everything and everyone who gets in their way. They never anticipated the day when their hearts would collide, challenging and changing everything they thought was the truth. Leading them to the day they would have to prove their love for each other to man and mutant alike.

Their love would spawn a dynasty. Three hundred years in the future, mankind still is trying to survive the Great Collision that changed the earth forever. People live in pockets of civilization called compounds, battling the elements and the mutations which have developed over the centuries, trying to live and survive day by day. Yulen D'Jacques is the Battle Lord of Alta Novis. His duty is to keep his compound and his people safe, which means yearly sweeps of the area to remove any mutated men and animals from encroaching. Atrilan Ferran is Mutah, a mutant warrior and huntress trained to protect and defend her home from Cleaners, the “normals” who invade the forests to slaughter everything and everyone who gets in their way. They never anticipated the day when their hearts would collide, challenging and changing everything they thought was the truth. Leading them to the day they would have to prove their love for each other to man and mutant alike.

Forced to leave Atty behind under the protection of Alta Novis, Yulen D'Jacques takes his troops to his newly acquired compound of Bearinger to defend it against the increasing attacks by Bloods. But when news arrives that Bearinger's walls were breached, Atty knows she must risk the dangerous trek to find out whether or not her husband is still alive. And if so, to bring him back home, regardless of the consequences.

The battle lord and lady of Alta Novis are still recovering from disease and loss, but things are slowly getting back to normal. Of course, things can’t be that easy. There’s a new enemy in town, of the eight-legged variety—an infestation of them. The species is a new one, and it's unknown how dangerous they are, but Yulen isn’t going to take any risks to find out. With a plan in motion, Yulen and a small army of men set out to track down the giant creatures, finding their nest in a cave. He and his crew waste no time going in to burn out the egg sacs, but when Yulen emerges from the flaming caverns, he finds himself…in the past? At least, he believes so when he sees the figure of a long-dead adversary. Somehow, a twist of fate has switched Yulen with a different version of himself. With the monsterous Yulen. The way he was before Atty. Before love. Before his acceptance of the Mutah. Realizing the other D’Jacques could be with his Atty, the reformed Yulen is seeing what his life would be like if she'd never come along. Now he must figure out how to get back to his own present. But before he does, he knows he has to bring this alternate timeline back up to speed with his own thriving world. Parallel lives, parallel realities, but totally different people and circumstances. Sometimes you learn a lot about yourself from experiences that you never knew possible, and it alters the course of your future for the better.

Besieged by Bloods and placed on a hunger watch, the citizens of the mutant compound of Wallis turn to the one person they pray will help, the Battle Lord of Alta Novis. Despite the fact that they took away the woman the man risked his life to love, they hope he will show mercy and lend aid. They never expected to find Atrilan Ferran alive and thriving as the wife of Yulen D'Jacques. Yulen sees this as the perfect opportunity to show the citizens of Atty's home compound the power and status his wife wields. But first he, Atty, and his soldiers have to risk the journey against the oncoming horde of blood-thirsty crazies to get there. Atty is eager to return to Wallis, but one small detail stands in the way of her and Yulen's happiness. He desires an heir, and she is terrified at the thought of becoming pregnant. Worse, the dangerous trek has increased his ardor, and she is running out of excuses why they can't make love.

Things seem to have settled down among the people of Alta Novis. Normals and Mutah are working together, and families are thriving. The compound is filled to capacity and brimming with new life, but their good fortune can only last for so long. Winter is setting in, and the surrounding countryside is being plagued by unexpected swarms of wild animals. In addition, a horde of rats is contaminating the food supplies and destroying goods, but why? Where are all these creatures coming from? And why is it happening now? It all seems to point to one man – a sorcer who shows up at the compound and demands obedience, or else he'll bring down a devastating curse upon them all. A curse that threatens to take away all Yulen D’Jacques holds dear. The Battle Lord finds himself at odds between fact and fiction, but he’ll stop at nothing to save his family, as well as his dynasty. But sometimes the real enemy can’t be seen, making it an almost impossible battle to fight, much less win.

The last time Yulen spoke to her, Atty was heading east, along with Fortune Kalich and several other hunters. With the latest onslaught of Bloods gone, so was the game, until there was little left to hunt to feed the growing population of Alta Novis. Since very few hunters went east, they figured it might yield good results. She planned to be gone four or five days at the most, a week tops, and promised to return with good news. That was, until Fortune returned without Atty. Worried and frightened, the Battle Lord, along with a handful of volunteers, go in search of the Battle Lady. They pray they'll find her alive. Either way, they are determined not to return to the compound without knowing the truth. What they discover will change their world forever.