.an incredible blending of fantasy and science fiction. Eventually the Terrans rediscover their long-lost - and now alien - colony: Darkover. Things are different there. While adolescent male homosexuality is generally tolerated on Darkover, men are expected to outgrow it. When Dyan Ardais takes lovers young enough to be his sons, he risks not just his reputation, but his life. Life in a Tower as a Keeper, the chaste virgin who holds a circle together, is grueling. Few succeed in the