King Jackal’s mercenary armies lay siege to Farland. The city holds for a time but finally falls and burns. Young Willam escapes through a tunnel with his uncle, Sir Jon, while General Wind leads the last western army through the mountains, trying to stay ahead of the enemy. Princess Myrcella of Farland is a prisoner at Karknat castle, held by Prince Russclle’s family. She pretends to be broken so she can win their trust. Far away, Thon, whose village was slaughtered and father killed, fights to survive alone in an underground river cave, haunted by nightmares of a giant named Prometheus.

During a royal hunt, Myrcella overhears two servants and learns her kingdom has fallen and her family is dead. Soon after, a wounded grizzly nearly kills her. Kamonga, an enslaved soldier, saves her life, and after a long winter recovering from infected wounds, she is given Kamonga and Dirk as her own servants. The book ends with a new threat. Prometheus’s destruction has released the demon Ali-Al-Tohah, which takes hold of King Jackal’s son, Prince Raslimh, and pushes him to murder his father and seize the empire. The mercenary King Graywater, unaware of the demon, plans to take the throne from the prince once the east is conquered.