Princess Lally was a happy child until her mother's untimely death. When her devastated and distraught father locked himself away, she was left to grow into adulthood without parental guidance. When the king emerges after ten years of solitude, he is no longer the man Lally remembers from the halcyon days of her youth. Lally's joy at her father's return quickly turns to rage, and she takes refuge in the darker realms of her personality, surrounded by a forest full of shape-shifting creatures. Disguised as a peasant girl under layers of furs, she seeks shelter and protection in the land of the good King Aelwyn. Will Lally remain in the dark world forever, or will she find relief from her suffering in the one man who treats her with kindness?