For thirty years, Rebeka Spearman's people had been at war with the invading Earthmen who took over her planet. When the Terran explorer, Condor, landed on Tusteya, the natives greeted them in friendship. Within an hour, war had been declared, as the Earthmen lay claim to the planet and take possession of Tusteya's wealth of the galaxy's most valuable metal. Now, thirty years later, Alcin Spearman, leader of the last free Tusteyan tribe, desperately devises a plan to end the conflict. Under a flag of truce, he offers his daughter, Rebeka, in marriage to the current Terran leader, in exchange for ceasing hostilities. Philip Hamilcar is skeptical until he sees Rebeka, but unknown to him, his new bride has a hidden agenda; she is to gain Philip's trust and then kill him, breaking the Earthmen's rule over Tusteya forever. Accompanying Rebeka to the Governor's palace is Darius, a captured Terran android reprogrammed as her bodyguard. Darius has good reason towish Philip's death; his artificial intelligence contains an empath-chip enabling him to experience emotion and he's fallen in love with Rebeka. Rebeka doesn't want to kill anyone, but she sees no way other way out but to agree to her father's plan. Once she's Philip's bride, she senses a latent empathy within him and finds herself falling in love with her husband. Noe she has a decision to make and if she chooses it wrong, she'll either break her heart or enslave her people forever. Will Rebekah sacrifice her happiness and make herself a widow or will she betray her people and let the hated Earthman live?
