When the first humans came to settle the planet Pern, they did not come
alone: intelligence-enhanced dolphins also crossed the stars to colonize
Pern's oceans while their human partners settled the vast continents.
But then disaster struck. The deadly silver spores called Thread fell
like rain from the sky, and as human colonists' dreams of a new, idyllic
life shattered into a desperate struggle for survival, the dolphins were
forgotten. Now, centuries later, as the dragonriders of Pern prepare to
complete the momentus task of ridding their world of Thread forever,
T'lion, a young bronze rider, and his friend Readis, son of the Lord
Holder of Paradise River Hold, make contact with the legendary
"shipfish." And as the dragonriders grapple with the end of an era,
T'lion, Readis, and the dolphins face the start of a new one: reviving
the bond between land- and ocean-dwellers - and resurrecting the dreams
of the first colonists of Pern.