Several years after taking the throne of Herridon, Nahtan's life seems to have settled down. Until the unpredictable Lord Valin returns from Nahtan's birth village of Edgewind with news that the slave trade is still alive and well in the southern part of the kingdom. Determined to eradicate the trade and rout the last of the church guards running it, Nahtan sends his armies south, while he leads a smaller group that includes his daughter Valry to draw attention away from the armies marching overland. He doesn't realize the fallen god Zared has built his own center of power there.