Slight scruff mark on spine from shelf wear, and slight crease on top of cover from shelf wear. It is a time of hope and regret, of endings and beginnings. The Red Star, that celestial curse whose eccentric orbit was responsible for Thread, has been shifted to a harmless orbit, and the current Threadfall will be the last. Technological marvels are changing the face of life on Pern. And the dragonriders, led by F'lessan, son of F'lar and Lessa and rider of bronze Golanth, and Tia, rider of green Zaranth, must forge a new place for themselves in a world that may no longer need them. But change is not easy for everyone. There are those who will stop at nothing- not even violence - to keep Pern and its people pure. And now a brand new danger looms from the skies . . . And threatens a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions.