There has been no rain in Haven for a long time and Arushka is worried about the animals. While checking up on them she sees Rorden, the most eccentric of Myah's brothers, scurrying out of the rocks below Razorback Ridge. She and Sundance return to the spot to investigate. They discover Rorden's Grotto, filled with weird equipment.

Meanwhile Myah is conducting a few investigations of her own. Once again she uses the Nomads goodwill to her advantage and is snooping around the Beast, an old vehicle still filled with gadgetry of its precious owners, the Protectors.

The brothers return to their cave and catch the unsuspecting intruders. Arushka and Sundance have no means of escape, locked in a primitive cage. What is the strange family up to?

Above North Col, Noah finds a pair of modified PH-Ts, exactly where Dolly was found. Somebody, sharing his knowledge, must have sent her into the past deliberately. Risking the inevitable censure, Noah once more travels to Haven to find the truth.

The Nomads have received Arushka's message from Prince, a friendly kestrel. Noah and the gang embark on a mission to rescue Arushka and Sundance. In the struggle between the Nomads and the brothers, Sundance is recaptured. And now Rorden has got hold of the PH-Ts. At last, he says, dangling them in from of the caged Sundance, I have a human subject for my experiments.