Once again Pern was in danger. The air trembled with Threadfall, and the holds seethed with rebellion. The Wily young Piemur, his singing ended by a change of voice, was given a new assignment by the Master Harper. On a bold mission to the Southern Hold, he would learn the Oldtimers’ secret and help Pern rediscover it’s lost heritage

Menolly arrived in triumph at the Harper Hall, aboard a bronze dragon. She had run away from home and lived in a cave, outrun the dread Threadfall, impressed nine fire lizards and written songs that pleased the Masterharper of Pern. But what was her future at the hall to be? It seemed she was always late or her fire lizards under foot, and why didn’t any of the other girls like her? Now that there was nothing to keep her from her beloved music and fire lizards, could Menolly learn to live among others, realize her talent and find her rightful place in the future of Pern?

Menolly, a young fisher’s daughter, had dreamed all her life of learning the Harper’s craft. When her stern father denied Menolly’s destiny, she fled Half Circle Hold just as Pern was struck again by the deadly danger of Threadfall, the killing ropes of death that fell from a nearby star. Taking shelter in a cave by the sea, Menolly made a miraculous discovery that insured her a new home among the master musicians of Pern’s Harper Hall