Facing uncertain destinies, Thal and Altea must escape Bohemia. The Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand himself has signed the warrant for Thal's capture on charges of shape shifting and the killing of Jesuits. A hefty reward attracts countless bounty hunters into the heart of this 16th century Christian empire. Thal emerges from hiding with his young wife Altea who is barely recovered from torture at the hands of witch hunters. With his werewolf powers, he battles the bounty hunters and begins a daring journey across the Holy Roman Empire. But more than men stalk him. Servants of Tekax, sorcerer to the Turks, have been unleashed upon his trail. The werewolf Rotfeng covets the enchanted fur that lets Thal change form at will, regardless of the phase of the moon. Worse yet comes Janfelter, an undying fext created in the dark fortress of Tekax. These heartless killers are tasked with stopping Thal from reaching his father Sarputeen, the arch nemesis of Tekax. Thal's only refuge awaits him in what is left of the Kingdom of Hungary after a Turkish conquest. In the remote castle Vlkbohveza the ancient sorcerer Sarputeen lives untouched despite widespread persecution of magic users and pagans. Although Thal longs to be with his own kind, he worries about the reunion with his father. It was Sarputeen's magic that made Thal a werelord, a master of wolves. But what shall the sorcerer require of his creation now that Tekax aims to settle an old score?