The streets run red with rebellion. The siege of Delma has not been broken, Methanlan and Shaul are lost in the city, and Kasna remains a prisoner. Duke Kelmar DeLacey, the Regent of Delma, must choose between obeying his King, gone mad, and the woman he loves, the daughter of his most dangerous enemy. The people of the cities of Celadmore can taste revolution in the air as the Gibborim stirs. Kasnata stands upon the brink of victory over her husband and the people of Delma, but there is doubt in her mind. Tola thirsts for vengeance for the murder of his lover, Renta, blinding him from all else around him. King Mercia Nosfa VI holds Lady Mia captive, a trap laid to capture her brother and traitor to his people, General Rathe Bird. But the king's madness increases with every passing day, losing what is left of his mind under the influence of Neesa's magic. Mia weeps over Joab, her heart and will broken, resigned to her fate as a unwilling second bride of the king. Kasanta's empire has risen, but how will those that have fought and died be remembered and how will the most dangerous secrets of Celadmore be buried?