Lima has tasted the fruit of love. Now bitter-sweet, it still lingers. To one privileged by her education, the world had seemed inviting and fathomable. Yet youth has its illusions. Their shattering has drawn her into its darkness. She is falling, dragging her family with her. Lima Karaspan's world is stained by the memory of her lost lover, Kaskatai. The family has uncovered her dark secret: to them, a secret of dishonour. The only way her brother can redeem their name is to dismiss her, disown her. But is such a path any sort of escape for Lima?