In the aftermath of the Miracle of Sentry, Queen Constance has set her seat of power in Vassarhold, the ruined city destroyed by fell magic twenty years past. But elsewhere in Coranthia the war rages on, and now the ancestral city of Alon is under siege, leading Constance and Marcus to question their decision to remain in hiding. Meanwhile, Ezre sets out on a journey to Jal Athazar to free the woman he loves, while Shyla struggles against her captor, the very sorcerer responsible for the devastation of both Vassarhold and Coranth. Struck by a sudden loss of faith, will Marcus return to help save his former home? Or will he abandon it all for the woman he loves?