Lededje Y'breq is one of the Intagliated, her life belonging to a man whose lust for power is without limit. Her release, when it comes, is at a price, and to put things right she will need the help of the Culture. With the assistance of one of its most powerful warships, Lededje finds herself heading into a combat zone not even sure which side the Culture is really on. A war is already raging within the digital realms that store the souls of the dead, and it's about to erupt into reality. It will touch countless lives and affect entire civilizations, but at the centre of it all is a young woman whose need for revenge masks another motive altogether.