Gerick was stolen away as a child by the evil Lords of Zhev, who sought to make him one of them. Years later, he seeks refuge in a strange, sunless land of outcasts—but he still fears the dark power of the Lords' dying curse and returns to Avonar only when he is forced to by tragic family business. In Avonar, Gerick is asked to investigate a woman who stumbled out of the desert—the ancient king DArnath's own daughter, held captive by the Lords of Zhev'Na for a thousand years…or so she claims. Gerick's tormented past with Zhev'Na proves vital as he attempts to discover whether this mysterious woman is truly free of their evil taint. But as he comes to know the charismatic D'Sanya, Gerick believes he has at last found a woman who can understand him and what he suffered at the hands of the Lords. Entangled in bonds of love, family, and secrecy, Gerick attempts to unravel the mysteries of ancient kings, ancient evil—and the dreadful truth of his own destiny