Three thousand years after Earth''s colonisation of the planet Borthan, stories of self-serving hypocrisy that occured among the first arrivals have bred a culture that forbids emotional sharing and denies the naturally human concept of ''self''. The result is a lasting peace, but at a terrible price. For it is a peace without love, without self, where even the mention of the word ''I'' is taboo.Spurred on by the arrival of an Earthman with a self-baring drug, Kinnall Darival breaks the strict code of the Covenant to record the sordid details of his rebelious life from the days of his royal youth to self-appointed prophet of love. He begins his account with the greatest of heresies:''I am Kinnall Darival and I mean to tell you all about myself.''Winner of the Nebula Award for best novel.