Among people, serpentine scales are prized—especially if they’re golden. “Snake gold” is used to make the finest armor, in which even no one’s spells are terrifying. That’s why snake-hunters scour deep underground burrows, searching for priceless material. But what about a young serpentkin whose family was killed and who herself only managed to slip away from a raid by sheer luck? What do you do when both people and the law are on the side of the killers, and all you have is someone else’s appearance and the ability to see the truth? The only way out is to make someone else’s path your own—turn enemies into friends and learn to live again…