Pern's last queen dragon is dying, leaving behind one great, golden egg. Who will Impress the planet's only breeding dragon?
Wingleader F'lar, rider of bronze Mnementh, is determined it will be a woman capable of leading Benden Weyr through the falls of deadly Thread that he is convinced will come.
And he finds her in Lessa, the last of the bloodline of the once-noble Ruatha Hold.
Taken to the Weyr, Lessa Impresses the hatchling Ramoth and from that moment, her life will never be the same.
With F'lar as her Weyrleader, she must somehow convince the Holders and Craftmasters - and some dragonriders - that Thread will fall again and that their help is needed if Pern is to survive. And with only one, under-strength Weyr where once there were six, it will be no easy task to get Pern through fifty years of Threadfall.
But where did the other five Weyrs go? Lessa thinks she knows - and if she can bring them back, Pern will be safe.
But is she right?
For now, Pern is safe. As the deadly Threads fall, six Weyrs of dragons rise to meet them, flaming them to dust.
But with each Fall, dragons and their riders are injured or killed and Benden's Weyrleader, F'lar, knows he must find a better way to protect the people and lands of Pern.
But with the rebellious Oldtimers causing dissent and Holders protesting at the hardships forced on them by Threadfall, as well as the cares of leading a Weyr, it won't be easy.
Luckily for F'lar, the ancients who created the dragons also created a less awe-inspiring defence against Thread.
Now if he can only convince the rest of Pern...
Stuck in her father's sea hold, young Menolly isn't particularly aware of the struggles going on elsewhere on Pern. She takes the usual defences to protect her hold and family against the deadly Thread but most of the fighting is done by the magnificent dragons and their riders, swooping on the strands and devouring them with flaming breath.
For Menolly, the true struggle is for music. Banned from playing or singing by her parents, she runs away in desperation.
While living in her seaside cave, she Impresses nine fire-lizards - miniature dragons, thought to belong only to myth. But even they can't save her when she is caught out in Threadfall and it is only the timely intervention of a sharp-eyed dragonrider which saves her from a hideous, painful death.
Taken to Benden Weyr, she is spotted by the Masterharper of Pern, Robinton, who realises where she truly belongs.
For Menolly, the Harperhall beckons.
Harper of Pern
Menolly's first week at the Harperhall isn't easy. Everything about her seems calculated to cause the most trouble it possibly can.
Her talent causes jealousy among her fellow apprentices.
Her low birth results in ridicule from the rank-conscious girls she lives with.
And as for the nine fire-lizards constantly flitting round her...
But she makes some good friends who help her through, and for a girl as talented as Menolly, there is nowhere else to go but the Harperhall - a place where the music she loves is loved by everyone.
(Get Off The Unicorn)
Keevan longs to be a dragonrider more than anything else. Born in Benden Weyr, the son of a dragonrider, he can't think of anything better.
But he's barely old enough to stand as a Candidate at a Hatching - and he's so small that, as everyone jokes, he can hardly see over the eggs.
After a bully breaks his leg, it seems as though Keevan isn't going to make it to the Hatching at all. That is, until his determination drags him to the Hatching Ground.
And once there, he discovers that it was all worth it.
Jaxom will be Lord Holder of Ruatha when he grows up, which means he can't be a dragonrider. Unfortunately, he has just Impressed Ruth, a tiny, sport, white dragon.
Nobody believes Ruth will live long but he proves them wrong by thriving, even though he will always be smaller than the other dragons.
Ruth makes up for his lack of size with several unique abilities. He always knows exactly where and when he is - and with some of the tasks he and Jaxom take on, that's vital.
Piemur is at the Harperhall because of his voice. He is the best singer in the Hall, Voicemaster Shonagar's personal apprentice. But it all comes to an end when his voice starts to break.
Posted to the drumheights as a drum apprentice, his reputation for mischief catches up with him and he finds himself the victim of some cruel practical jokes.
Eager to get away from his fellow apprentices, he enthusiastically joins the missions he is sent on by Masterharper Robinton.
Posing as a herdman's apprentice, his longing for a fire-lizard of his own gets him into more trouble than he could have imagined and leaves him stranded on the Southern Continent.
Then again, that isn't too unpleasant for a character like Piemur.
Dragonlady of Pern
It's near the end of the Sixth Pass and the dragonriders are starting to look forward to a time when they no longer have to risk their lives protecting Pern from the deadly Thread. Among them is Moreta, Weyrwoman of Fort Weyr.
But before the time of peace, there is an even more deadly threat to face. A plague is sweeping Pern, destroying the population and only the dragons, with their unique ability to travel between times, can save the planet.
One of the many children of the Lord of Fort Hold, Nerilka's only purpose in life is to secure a suitable husband. That is, until the deadly plague sweeps Pern.
Determined to do something to help, Nerilka makes her way to the internment camp where she works tirelessly.
With the plague finally under control, 'Rill' ends up at Ruatha Hold which is badly in need of rebuilding. And while she is there, she falls in love with the young Lord Holder, Alessan.
But Alessan loves Moreta, Weyrwoman of Fort Weyr.
As the colonists make their way from Earth to the idyllic planet of Pern, they are expecting a struggle to make the planet habitable - but nothing like the deadly battle with which they are faced.
As Threads fall, devouring all organisms with which they come into contact, the colonists throw all their resources into the fight to stay alive.
But there is a solution. With genetic engineering, the native fire-lizards are bred into massive, fire-breathing creatures, christened dragons for their similarity to the Terran myth.
But before they can fight Thread, their riders must learn how to use the dragons' many abilities. Will they learn in time?