The inhabitants of Halcyon island are ruled by laws of the Deliverer and follow the same customs and traditions that have prevailed for hundreds of years. The laws state no incomers, but when Thomas and Molly find a shipwrecked canoe with a boy and girl, barely alive, they are determined not to reject them outright. New blood on the island is bound to cause a disturbance, but the effects the newcomers have on the close knit community are beyond anyone's predictions.