Cup of Clay

From the flaps of the Tor first edition: "Returning to the spinning of fantasy, the author of Seven of Swords presents a Twin Cities newspaper reporter who finds herself in another world - the once pristine land of Veil. Here, Alison Carver discovers that the sparkling clear water is not safe to drink, for some of the stunning waterfalls are now poisonous. The flowers are gorgeous - but some produce an evil stench. Here women are treated with great homage - but they are sequestered in harem-like living quarters, and their opinions are unknown - for women are not allowed to have any. Here children are loved - and cruelly exploited. Known as the Littlelost, the children of Veil who are exiled by their parents lead a feral existence in the beautiful forests that conceal hideous Etheron pits, and the brutal men known as Takers. Alison is not one to abandon the forsaken - but she wants nothing more than a return to this earth. Her only guide to Veil is an insufferable young man with flaming red hair, who has been bred and trained for only one career - to be the hero of a quest. Rowan's first mission is to become guardian of the Cup of Earth - a talisman that is won by song and song alone. Without the Cup, Alison has no chance of returning to her own world. An yet, without the Cup, Rowan, and the Littlelost, and even Veil itself may die... It my be that what Veil needs most is a woman to guard its talisman."