New paths are forged between north and south, but the connections are not what either expects. The new caste-less city hits hard times. Enemies decimate the food supply, and Jarrita fears they may not survive the winter. The mage Pavresh discovers a new magical threat, a rival who corrupts Arcist magic to dominate victims' minds, and who may be too powerful for Pavresh to resist. The scholar Harkala launches a voyage to sail to the Forgotten South, but stormy seas and foreign peoples thwart her goals. After the capture of Prince Jasfer, his wife Datri acts as the spy-master in Chaitanshehar. But she hangs onto foolish hope that her husband may still be alive. A cabal of villains presents the Eghsal Valley's greatest threat, but as they betray one another who is really in control?