Synopsis: From the back cover of the DAW first edition: "The power of the Lir is hers - She is Keely, twin sister to Corin, and daughter of Niall, the ruler of Homana, and she alone has the power to shapechange into any form, a power akin to that of the Firstborn. And like her brothers, Keely has been chosen to play a crucial part in the Firstborn's prophecy. Yet Keely, a true daughter of the lion, is no weak pawn to be used in men's games of power and diplomacy. Trained alongside her brothers in the art of war, gifted with more of the old magic than most of her close kin, she will not easily give way even to Niall's commands, nor be forced against her will into an arranged marriage. But others besides Keely's father have plans for her future. Strahan, the most powerful Ihlini sorcerer, is already preparing a trap from which even one as magic-gifted as Keely may find no escape. And in the deepwood, another waits to challenge Keely, an outlaw fully as dangerous to her future freedom as Strahan is to her life..."