This Pagan novel is a sequel to The Rise of the Haliorunnae. It has themes of witchcraft, Christian knights, rioting and mob justice with violent consequences. Jean-Louis Rusch has financial control of the world. Humans, ignorant of the existence of the haliorunnae, are trying to understand how their standard of living has nose-dived. On being challenged for his power the King of the Haliorunnae approaches a secret order of knights whose ultimate purpose is to aid in a future, much bigger fight. However, Louis rightly judges that their courageous Marshal must aid in his cause in order for the knights to continue in any meaningful quest of their own. In the midst of attempting to court the woman he was betrothed to as a child, and who he has managed to avoid for some years, the Marshal finds himself up against an enemy unlike any he could have imagined.