Long before the time of this story, men and women on a colonised planet divided themselves completely from each other, and formed separate societies; the women separated so far as to move their population to a different world altogether. On rare occasions, however, a woman convicted of crimes could choose to be sent to the men's planet. When this happened, she was sold as an exotic pet, had the status of an animal, and was kept as a slave. This is the story of Etrin, a young woman who makes this choice, and Garid, the man who buys her.

In the course of their separate evolution, the men have gained considerably in height, while the women have selected for smaller size to save scarce resources. So Etrin, even smaller than the female average, is tiny beside her owner. He keeps her in the most abject slavery, never allows her to speak or learn his language, and enjoys the absolute control and pleasure that his ownership gives him. His staff, Pav and Arleben, look after Etrin as well; Arleben is particularly experienced at breaking an animal to harness. At this point in the story, Garid has decided to come out of his possessive isolation with his slave and try connecting with other owners, some of whom use their females as ponies.