In the far-distant future Vali Hallsdottir, assassin of an organisation known as the Skald, is sent on a mission to the world of Nhem. Her assignment is to eliminate the destructive patriarchal regime of the Hierolath. But shortly after her arrival, Vali finds herself betrayed by her mission partner, who is not the man he seems. Frey, once Vali's lover, has undergone a genetic transformation to disguise himself and has his own agenda for travelling to Nhem. After Vali's escape from the clutches of the Hierolath's militia she goes in search of Frey in order to discover the reasons for his betrayal. Her journey takes Vali to Darkland, where sinister forces known as the vitki wreak havoc... Praise for Liz Williams and her novel BANNER OF SOULS: 'A vivid adventure . . . that lingers long after the last page is turned' K. J. Bishop 'A gothic feast for the imagination that places Liz Williams in the first rank of visionary science fiction writers' Charles Stross 'Liz Williams is this generation's answer to Margaret Atwood and Sheri Tepper' Chris Moriarty

Vali Hallsdottir has returned to her home world of Muspell to discover that her nation is in chaos, preparing to face invasion from the neighbouring country of Darkland. When her friend and mentor Idhunn is brutally murdered and her spine removed and stolen, Vali falls under suspicion and is held by the army of the Morrighanu, but released by a mysterious force. Having nowhere else to run, she travels across the northern ice field to the hostile glacier territory of Darkland, where she meets an old enemy, Thorn Eld, a member of the elite security force known as the vitki. Eld tells her that Darkland has spawned a rogue assassin, a female vitki killer known as Skinning Knife and despite their differences Vali and Eld decide to join forces and track down the vitki's most lethal weapon. Together they are going to face some dangerous questions about the nature of Skinning Knife herself, and her impact on their world...