Following a worldwide cataclysm a few centuries earlier the isolated and remote island of Droma has had no contact with other peoples except a little desultory trade with the country of Valkil ('it's a very long way away to the south and west, at least two weeks by ship'). The people have lived a hard life, not much above subsistence level for generations, but completely without conflict and have acknowledged no enemy except the weather. One day in summer an army from Valkil invades, intent upon conquest. No-one has ever heard of a peaceful society putting one over an invading army before, but that's only because it hadn't been done right before, not that it couldn't be. Just a few individuals to begin with - but ultimately every single Droman - will have no truck with ideas as insane as fighting and war and set about resisting. But not with weapons. They don't have any to begin with; they don't even have a word for them. There are other ways: ways that the Dromans have never thought of, let alone the Valkiets. But lifetimes of hardship have made them very resourceful. A miner called Kerma, a doctor called Al and several others immediately set about subversion instead of shooting and a war of wits instead of weapons - with unforeseen results for everyone. Seasoned army veterans find they have to deal with forthright young girls instead of other soldiers; injured sailors are patched up by competent children; the invaders cannot keep their prisoners confined and all the while they are becoming hungrier and hungrier. The Dromans, practical as ever, had carried off all the food when they went into hiding. Up against the reality of survival the Valkiets come to realize that guns are not the answer, and everybody has to start to think differently. Fortunately, the Valkiets have at their head a man with great qualities of leadership and diplomacy. Little by little an uneasy truce is established, and as cooperation takes over from conflict, this starts to solidify into peaceful co-existence. But conflict begins again, this time within the Valkiet ranks, and at a high level. By now, however, developing friendships between Droman and Valkiet have made the Dromans realize that it is their business as well, and they have to resort to even greater ingenuity to ensure that relations do not break down. Peace is restored - but at a price. Some, in the end, have to pay with their lives to discover the terrible secret that is at the heart of Droma and its people.