"They thought Melfar and Mundani were the only people left on Earth. They were wrong. The hopeful joy wrought by the dedication of the Book of All Time, with its heady celebration of Meridia as both Melfar Calumet and Mundani Prophet, is shattered when a ship with expansive white wings drops anchor off Selbourne. The ship and its occupants depart as swiftly as they came, taking with them a mirror and two Melfar -- including one of Meridia's infant twins. They leave behind only mystery: Who are these people? And where did they come from? Meridia and her partner Damon must fight through their personal grief to recover their missing daughter and her caregiver Yuli. But how to begin? They have no ships. Perhaps an answer lies in the nearly forgotten Melfar Song of the Sea or in deciphering the original purpose of the stolen mirror, discovered long ago in the perilous ruins of Swarthpol, where Meridia's father was once imprisoned. Perhaps there are ways of reaching Yuli and the baby that do not require ships."--