Book excerpt: Angry her father, who has ordered her to bond with a man with tainted lines.Lasara plans to escape. Her ability to read the lines of fire makes her a talented duelist. Friends aid her escape. They tell her to seek the Desert Riders and a man called Jens. The meeting is different than she plans. They duel for hours and end in both collapsing. While she recovers she hears about the kidnapping of girls with strong lines of fire, she decides to act to free them. Then she learns about a strange man who has joined her enemy. The Defenders need to know. Ever since his duel with a Defender Jens wonders if this man could really be his brother. Traveling to the Defender’s Hall doesn’t suit him. He like his life as a Desert Rider. His band of Riders travels to a village on the edge of the desert. A challenge to see who has the trading advantage is called for. The duel ends in a tie. He is on his way back to the desert when a man from a different troop speaks of young girls being kidnapped. Learning and freeing them becomes his goal. Lasara joins him during the quest. Somehow, they must face the renegades and rescue the young women.