In a land called the Whykatto, south of the city of Orklun, the sun rises angry in the sky, eats the winter grass and flames towards the western horizon. As the sky turns fiery, figures appear in the landscape: a boy, limping, accompanied by an old woman. Cast out from their tribe they make the journey alone, away from the sun's rage, away from the deserts of the north, toward the southern lands. This is Ish's tale, a tale of rejection, of survival against the odds, of growing up in an age when much is feared, and few can be trusted.