The ancient state of Canuta is peacefully ruled by five wise Councils: the Council of Soldiers; the Council of Philosophers; the Council of Judgers; the Council of the Ancients and the Council of The Gods. These councils are all run by men, but women have the Sisters of Mercy to adjudicate on matters pertaining to themselves. The only real concern to Canutans is the Kingdom of Ykta, a savage people who live acoss the Oval Sea and are dedicated to conquering Canuta. However the centuries-long animosity is tempered by the fact that the Yktanians have no navy to speak of and so cannot reach Canuta, and the Canutan army are incapable of crossing Yktanian deserts. Young Milly is happily growing up in Sisdor, the harbour capital of Canuta, as the only darling daughter of a wealthy merchant, one who does not blame her for being a girl, and insists on her having all the schooling and benefits a son would have had. Her mother, on the other hand, she refers to as 'the woman who married my father'. The reason for this becomes evident when her father dies and her mother remarries. Amongst their pantheon of gods is the Goddess Demesis, who, on remarrying after her husband's death fighting the Yktanians, cast her daughters out into the wilderness so that she might dedicate her life to her new husband. All Canutan women are required to follow this example, and Milly is cast out to fend for herself. During this her hair turns white from shock and grief. She manages to survive by thieving until she is captured by what she thinks is a band of female criminals, but turn out to be the Daughters of Demesis, girls similarly cast out, banded together under the leadership of Mother Merciless. She now has a new people. Then she slips aboard an unmanned ship in the harbour to see if anything of value can be obtained. Some of the crew return and she takes cover until nightfall. She is discovered and brought before My Captain on deck, and she realises the ship has sailed and is now far from Canuta. The ship turns out to be a secret Yktan naval vesel disguised as a trading ship. The crew are busy removing the disguise and equipping it to sail at full speed to what they call the Lying Islands and what Canutans call the Gods' Graveyards. Milly hides the fact that she can speak Yktish and learns that their plan is to colonise the Gods' Graveyards and so encircle Canuta in a pincer grip before defeating them. Milly realises that she must find a way to warn her people of their danger. But before they can get to the Gods' Graveyards they must travel through Storm Gate, and no-one has ever done that. She cannot warn the Yktanians of their danger because she cannot reveal her knowledge of Yktish. Should they survive Storm Gate they will have to find the Gods' Graveyards, but the number of people who have returned from such a venture is precisely none. Trying to do so is strictly forbidden in Canuta. To make matters worse the Yktan sailors have taken her to heart: she is their Little White Hair. Since they have treated her as part of their kin while the Canutans cast her out, who is her family now? While trying to get to grips with that question, with no option of getting off, she has no choice but to join the Yktanians in their voyage into Storm Gate and the Gods' Graveyards. The question of who her people are going to be is one that will have to wait.