Jantalus remembers his mother's murder with perfect clarity. Unfortunately it's the only thing he remembers. Found unconscious in the company of a dying man, the people who save him learn only his name before his companion dies. Jantalus cannot explain who he is, the nature of the strange magic he possesses but cannot control or why he bears the sinister black-eyed mark of the dead. With fragments of memories he cannot be sure are real as his only guide, Jantalus sets off on a journey to discover who he was, who he is and who he will, ultimately, be. Pursued by assassins with knowledge of his past and taunted by the fear that he may never find the truth, Jantalus soon finds himself facing a past that might not be worth uncovering.