Tortured Intellectual Kirk Salazar, devout intellectual, had quite been looking forward to his field research on Sunga. He aimed to discover how the stump-tailed, semi-arboreal kusis lived without being injured within the venom tree forest. A fascinating topic! His thesis would have progressed splendidly, save for one thing. A certain lack of financing necessitated that he travel through Sunga with a tour group. Much against his will, he soon became embroiled with a conglomeration of characters even more peculiar than Sunga's natural wonders. First there were the hard-core tourists, always pushing and complaining, desperate to glimpse the rare, birdlike zutas. Worse the Cantemir--a man lewd, rude, and dangerous--who had struck a deal with the native Chief to destroy the whole Sunga forest for lumber! But most formidable was Alexis Ritter. She was the high priestess of a Sunga cult dedicated to chastity. But she sure seemed to have a use in mind for Salazar's body! Doggedly Salazar pursued his research through ambushes, sex, and even attempted murder. A determined intellectual does not give up easily--even if he has to go to extremes to defend his thesis!