King Xalton is ruler of Straltonia, the mightiest empire to ever exist among the kingdoms of the Westermarck. His wealth is limitless, his power unrivalled, and his reputation for satisfying the world's most beautiful women legendary. Now his life hangs by a thread. A mysterious illness is slowly ravaging his strength, and the greatest doctors money can buy cannot heal him. In desperation he hires the world's most dreaded sorcerer to save his life, but now he fears the evil mage has played him for a fool. Behind closed doors dissenting nobles plot the king's demise. His only hope lies in a strange woman, hailed by the southern lands as a goddess, but whose lineage is steeped in a lust for human blood, and in a savage warrior whom he has already sentenced to death.