Kethan, son of Gillan and Herrel, heir to the House of Car Do Prawn, destined to become lord of Arvon, acquires a leopard-skin belt with strange powers, its clasp a leopard's head made from jargoon stone. Unable to take it off, Kethan becomes part man, part beast. In the perilous confrontation between his inner good and evil, he discovers his true identity and the quest he must undertake.