As a young boy, Davian was sold into slavery at Source Makarsk, a wellspring of malign, corrupted magic. Over the years, he has risen in the ranks of the slaves; still, he knows he will never be anything but a slave until an elderly wizard, a prisoner at Makarsk, gives him an astonishing gift. Desperate to find the destiny the wizard promised him, Davian risks his life to escape from Makarsk. Isamina, a healer at Sharan, a Source of healing magic, has a talent for soothing patients' fears and pain. But her ability to touch broken minds and spirits is strictly forbidden at Sharan, and her parents, the Master and Matron of the Source, and her betrothed, her former teacher, have their own plans for the path her life should follow. When a badly-injured runaway slave is brought to Sharan, Isamina is captivated by the man she senses deep beneath the damage caused by the evil Source that still holds him prisoner, and risks everything to try to heal his tormented spirit. And Davian, hunted by Makarsk's fearsome Guardian, must find a way to defeat the powerful magic that binds him to Source Makarsk so that he can become the great man he longs to be and win the love he yearns for, the love of his healing angel, Isamina.