Ten years on from Three Kinds of North and The Sundering Wall, Jerya's life feels settled and comfortable, until a new acquaintance brings new possibilities and new dilemmas. Perhaps Hedric can become more than a friend, but only if Jerya is prepared to align herself with the owner-class.

If this is isn't enough to contend with, news of a planned expedition across the mountains prompts a fateful decision. Jerya's return to the Sung Lands is meant to give warning, but will the Guild of Dawnsingers see it in that light? Not if her old nemesis, Perriad, has anything to do with it. Jerya finds herself risking everything she has come to hold dear.