Menolly, a young fisher's daughter, had dreamed all her life of learning the Harper's craft. When her stern father denied Menolly's destiny, she fled Half-Circle Sea Hold just as Pern was struck again by the deadly danger of Threadfall, the killing ropes of death that fall from a nearby star. Taking shelter in a cave by the sea, Menolly made a miraculous discovery that ensured her a new home among the master musicians of Pern's Harper Hall.