The principality of Ursalima is a jewel in the desert. The wealthiest province in the Kingdom of Oshamalan, it has become the vacation destination of choice for businessmen, princes, and celebrities. Led by the reformist prince JABRIL ELADDIN DIAZ and his beautiful, glamorous wife Princess LILITH, Ursalima stands alone in the Land of Nod.It would be ideal, were it not for that murderous jinni.In Ursalima, the end was coming. People were vanishing; hundred-year-old buildings were disintegrating, and entire villages collapsed into the sea. Unable to stem the destruction, Prince JABRIL retreats to his tower, praying for a miracle.The Wizards' college of Axiom, half a world away, soon catches wind of the rogue jinni. Two of their own had vanished in Ursalima shortly before the destruction began. The Arch-Mage, fearing the worst, contracts the Black Sword - an elite mercenary organization with members that specialize in magical threats - and requests that they join the master fire wizard ALEXIA of Songbird and her Bodyguard, Captain Gaius MARIUS to find the missing mages and determine what, exactly, has gone wrong.Joining them on this quest are BLACK SPARROW the warlock - a veteran of Black Sword, and WHITE RAVEN the technopath, on her second major mission.With all the damage the jinni has done, one-question remains - with all the wealth and power at Prince JABRIL's disposal, why can no one remember having heard of him until last week? Is Ursalima the future of the world? Or is it nothing more than "A Kingdom of Sand"?