All his life, Sixth of the Dusk has been a traditional trapper of Aviar - the supernatural birds his people bond with - on the deadly island of Patji. Then one fateful night he propels his people into a race to modernize before they can be conquered by the Ones Above, invaders from the stars who want to exploit the Aviar. But it's a race they're losing, and Dusk fears his people will lose themselves in the effort. When a chance comes to sail into the expanse of the emberdark beyond a mystical portal, Dusk sets off to find his people's salvation with only a canoe, his birds and all the grit and canniness of a Patji trapper.