Time is short. The proposed marriage of Valentyna and Celimus draws ever closer, but Wyl's latest guise leaves him powerless to intervene. His plans in ruins, the former General of the Legion becomes more and more reckless in his attempts to prevent the union of his mortal enemy and the woman he loves. But he must be careful to heed the warning of the manwitch, Elysius: Myrren's gift will bow to no man's will.

As events in Morgravia, Briavel and the Mountain Kingdom draw to a climax, the fate of three nations will rest with the extraordinary abilities of a small boy named Fynch, and the capricious magic of the Quickening. Wyl Thirsk is about to discover the truth of Myrren's legacy: a gift of life . . . or a curse beyond death?