[2] Previously, as Todd Johnson, he had contributed the chapter "Training and Fighting Dragons" to The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern (1989).

[3] Mother and son had also discussed Pern and its setting for years, and she had suggested that he "writes the military science fiction prequels" to the colonization, but that never progressed far.

The story tells how the people of the planet Pern discover the special abilities of the watch-whers or whers, a distant relative of the dragons.

Despite the protests from Tarik and his group, Natalon decides to trade an entire winter's worth of coal for a chance for Kindan to ask a queen watch-wher for an egg.

This proves to be vital as, towards the end of the novel, Kisk's abilities will save many lives, including that of the camp leader, Natalon.