Orion, who has hunted the dwindling forests of Archon Prime his entire life, begrudgingly helps his lifelong friend smuggle much-needed food to the enslaved people of their world, until their efforts are discovered by the warrior regent. Immediately after their arrest, the regent discovers something about Orion that could either pose a grave threat to his regime, or serve his sinister ends. He banishes Orion to a dangerous world, far from Archon Prime. On this new, wild and treacherous world, humans are not welcome, and Orion is hunted by the savage alien commander of the inhabitants' military. With no way of escaping back to Archon Prime, Orion's flight leads him to an encounter with a weary hermit, who reveals to Orion that he has a deeper connection to the man who banished him than he could have imagined and a greater calling to lead his people to liberation.