"Changing her destiny could alter life as they know it...Kirra Barret lives with her clan in a mining community in the Fifth Ward of Florian, a city in a human-occupied zone on planet Treaty.She is determined to have a brighter future--and her unique connection to the planet's flying alien beasts could be the key to improving her fortunes. In Florian's upmarket Second Ward, Eva Fourier is offered the chance to become a secret government agent and go after criminals accumulating wealth and power on Treaty by dubious means. From different ends of Florian's social spectrum, battle lines are drawn as Kirra and Eva's lives intertwine in unexpected and high-stakes way--ways that threaten the long-standing agreement between humans and aliens on Treaty forever . . ."--Inside jacket flap.