Tira Archer is hunting a monster. She's after a necromancer who uses the dead as puppets in her mad schemes. Tira has sworn to take the sorceress down, no matter what the cost. She gets sidetracked when she meets Su, a fugitive on the run from some nasty bounty hunters. Then she meets Alerak, a vengeful nobleman who thinks Su is a murderer, and Roth, a former assassin turned priest, who's been given the task of hunting down the real killer. By the time they realize they're all pawns in a dark conspiracy, Su is in a cell, scheduled for execution, and Roth is in the clutches of an old enemy. Tira senses the hand of the necromancer behind it all. This could be her chance to stop the woman once and for all. All she has to do is rescue Su from the gallows, pluck Roth from the clutches of vicious pirates, keep Alerak from blundering into a deadly trap, and lead the entire motley group in an assault on an impenetrable fortress. The only sensible thing to do is to ride away, but Tira's in too deep to stop now. It'll take more than an outraged noblewoman with a squad of cavalry, a band of river pirates, and a flying ship full of mercenaries to stop Tira. She's going to bring down a necromancer, and may the gods help anyone who gets in her way