The leader of the telepathic humans that later became known as the Patternists, was a man originally from Africa named Doro.

Doro indirectly 'procreates' by controlling, selectively interbreeding and sometimes possessing the bodies of people who are telepathically sensitive (destroying the host's individual consciousness in the process), in an effort to make a group of psychically gifted superhumans he can achieve power through, who will also make him feel less alone in the world.

The story is focused on one of Doro's daughters, named Mary, who is a young, poor biracial woman.

With support from her people, Mary gains the strength to fight and ultimately kill Doro by adding him to the 'pattern' and draining his life energy.

However, those who have read Patternmaster and Clay's Ark know that in a short time, the Clayark virus brought from an alien world will create mutated animalistic beings who cannot be telepathically manipulated and are compelled to infect others, leading to a dystopian future world where the two groups battle for control, and ordinary humans will have to choose between serving the feudal Patternist society or being absorbed by the anarchist Clayarks.