Diam isn't happy with his nomadic life on Gallia and wishes for a better life. When a new colony ship arrives from Earth he is intrigued by what the Newcomers have to offer. But when his sister becomes ill, Diam learns why his people became nomads in the first place. A tarot reading by the village witch sends him to find a way to force the Newcomers to leave Gallia before anyone else gets sick.

Diam doesn't count on falling in love with Justina, the colony's doctor. The passion they stir in each other reaches beyond the barriers of language and background to bring them together but even with their new love they can't ignore their peoples' fate.

The judgment card in Diam's tarot reading promised success but it is Diam and Justina's judgment and skill that will be needed if all Gallians, new and old, are to have the lives they deserve.