Richard and Cara help a small group of villagers escape ruthless slave traders, killing the aggressors in the process. The deaths disappoint the matriarch of the victimized people, a pacifist group called the Minders. Some of them, though, are tired of turning the other cheek while they are being subjugated and slaughtered, and enlist the Seeker's aid in showing them how to protect themselves against future attacks. But Richard's attempt to teach the Minders self-defense skills unleashes their building rage, which threatens to consume them and destroy the Seeker.