Maradass the Mad is dead. Maradass the Evil takes his place. Black dogs, hunt the land, corrupted stone-men march under the banner of the dog skull, and a poison spreads from the Broken Lands, threatening the Regions. Can Kerran, a youth from the Dreadim Forest, Findas, an outcast son of a nobleman, and, Tris, a girl and a thief who has learned to live by her wits, unlock the secrets of the Seacrest and save the Regions? " Soon the others could smell it too, a musty canine smell; then they heard the sound of padded feet, coming at a fast run. The moon was high and bright and the road stood out against the darkness. A black mass of moving bodies appeared where the road began its ascent. The large dogs, perhaps ten or twelve of them, became distinguishable from each other, their blue flamed eyes flickering as they ran. Behind them rode two men on horseback. They were armoured and cloaked in black, the white skull of a dog showing as the emblem on their tunics."