Everybody was young once. Even the most confident people were once uncertain, the most ferocious were once frightened, and the most competent were once naive. We all met our best friends somewhere and not always under the best conditions.

In this collection of short stories from the world of Panamindorah, Silveo meets Basil, Silas meets Percy, Anaroo meets Gwain, Gus meets Silas, and Gerard prepares to meet Thessalyn. Dakar and Theseus are tiny children, caught up in the machinations of others; Glossy makes impossibly difficult decisions for herself and her child; and Marlie struggles with the ghosts of her past and present. All of them will find their places in the world, often far from where they started. For the moment, however, they are doing everything for the first time.

These stories will make the most sense if you have read The Guild of the Cowry Catchers series and The Scarlet Albatross. However, if you haven't read one or both of those stories, you'll still understand most of what's going on. The titles in this collection are: Harbor Wave, Dark Heart, Quarantine, Taking Tricks, Anaroo of the Defiance, Letter of Reference, Chimera, Fire From Heaven, and Ghosts.