After a narrow escape from the trap set for him, Cedric wakes to find he is without a home, without a friend, and without a hope of taking back his castle. He is also weakened by the wound dealt to him at the hands of the treacherous Lord Bane. But Cedric is not discouraged. He sets out across the western lands of the Empire in search of fighting men who can help him, determined to take back his beloved RoseThorn, fight the bandit rebellion, and even defy death itself. But the lands have been ravaged by plague and rebellion. Dangerous men lurk in the shadows of abandoned towns and villages. Death is everywhere. And the wounded Cedric is not the warrior he used to be. Still haunted by ghosts he cannot explain, he must hold tight to the promise of RoseThorn in his heart and find a way to lead others before they are destroyed by fear and hate .