At eighteen, Maquesta Kar-Thon has just volunteered to captain the Perechon for a quest with a high stake -- her father's life. The minotaur lord Attat has giver her father a slow-acting poison, and is withholding the antidote until Maq captures the deadly sea monster Morkoth for his private zoo. To accompany her on this voyage, Attat sends along the renegade minotaur Bas Ohn-Koraf and a shadowperson warrior, Ilyatha. As the Perechon races to complete its quest, it is beset by pirates, attacked by Blood Sea imps, and tangles with kuo-toa. Maq must not only fight these enemies but prove herself to the Perechon crew. Through it all, the image of her dying father bears down on her. The Warriors series details the exploits of the heroes and villains of the War of the Lance.