Description:

An air of pleasant anticipation hung so thickly over the Halls, Holds, and Weyrs of Pern that it had affected even the businesslike ways of Moreta, the Weyrwoman of Fort Weyr, where her dragon, Queen Orlith, would soon clutch. Then without warning, a runner beast fell ill. Soon myriads of holders, craftsmen, and dragonriders were dying; and the mysterious ailment had spread to all but the most inaccessible holds. Pern was in mortal danger. For, if dragonriders did not rise to char Thread, the parasite would devour any and all organic life it encountered. The future of the planet rested in the hands of Moreta and the other dedicated, selfless Pernese leaders. But of all their problems, the most difficult to overcome was time... "Anne McCaffrey, with her dragons, says something very valuable about the interplay of humans and the world around them." MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY, AUTHOR OF "THE MISTS OF AVALON" "The story moves with compelling speed and power; involving at least a baker's dozen of well-drawn characters... a well-told tale in the classic pattern." CHICAGO SUN-TIMES "Fine heroine, an absorbing story and an abundance of dragons.Recommended." NEW YORK DAILY NEWS "Not since St. George set off on his quest has there been such a flap over dragons." PEOPLE MAGAZINE Cover art by Michael Whelan

Anne McCaffrey draws the reader back in time to an earlier Pern to tell the story of one of Pern’s great and true heroines.

An air of pleasant anticipation hung so thickly over the Halls, Holds and Weyrs of Pern that it had affected even the businesslike ways of Moreta, the Weyrwoman of Fort Weyr, where her dragon, Queen Orlith, would soon clutch.

Then without warning, a runnerbeast fell ill. Soon myriads of holders, craftsmen, and dragonriders were dying; and the mysterious ailment had spread to all but the most inaccessible holds. Pern was in mortal danger. For, if dragonriders did not rise to char Thread, the parasite would devour any and all organic life it encountered.

The future of the planet rested in the hands of Moreta and the other deicated, lelfless Pernese leaders. But of all their problems, the most difficult to overcome was time. . . .