The river Ata grants the nomadic Fluters all they need to survive. That is how it has been since the dawn of time. But every year, that becomes less and less, and their hardships grow. Vattu was the only child born that cycle, and late at that. With an empire encroaching, if the Fluters are to survive, they must change, and Vattu is that change. Soon, she is thrust into the new world of the imperial city, leaving behind all she has ever known.