The legendary ape warrior Kaesar saved ex-captain Attar and rebel chimp Seneca...now he's standing idly by as they're dragged to inevitable death by an angry ape mob!? The heroic human slave girl, Crow, isn't the only one confused! But just as the axe blade falls, a gunshot rings out! It's Esau, Seneca's human ally, and a dead-eye shot, at that. Though their hides are saved -- for the moment -- mysteries remain to be solved. Why does Kaesar, an ape, so staunchly protect a human clan? Some superstitious humans think he is not what he appears to be. And what of the side-tracked search for Ari, the reason for Attar's arduous journey into this wild, remote landscape far, far away from the ape capital of Derkein? Will ape be set against ape once again in a bloody battle that can have no victors?!