Andry, the new Sunrunner Lord of Goddess Keep, must master potentially deadly magical knowledge before he can confront the ancietn foe who nearly destroyed the Sunrunners ages ago. But the enemy is mobilizing to strike again, drawing on forbidden lore to play an ever-shifting game of treachery and betrayal.

The only survivor of royal treachery that eliminates his entire family, Azzad al-Ma'aliq flees to the desert and dedicates himself to vengeance. With the help of the Shagara, a nomadic tribe of powerful magicians, he begins to take his revenge—but at a terrible cost to himself.