Alastar Connors' studies of the changelings who live in the forest beyond the Great Iron Wall have been greatly aided by his friendship with the mischievous Gadhar. As a faerie creature, Gadhar's soul takes a frightening shape, but he's always behaved as an eager-to-please puppy around Alastar. When an intimate moment leads to an unexpected revelation, Alastar fears he may have jumped to some ill-informed conclusions about his friend. Desperate to fix the misunderstanding, Alastar stumbles into the kind of trouble that even a quick-witted changeling might not be able to get him out of.