Death is in the palm of his hand. For centuries, the Great Spectators protected the innocent from becoming collateral damage in an endless series of wars that ravaged the continent of Taldera. And after peace arrived they finally disbanded, and their deeds became legendary. Now in times of comfort, Deven Fortem, son of one of the last Great Spectators, is quite happy neglecting the responsibilities of a young lord and wasting his days in the taverns of Kalverif, conning cocky fools out of a few drashiv and drinking till he forgets. But when Deven discovers his latent abilities in Palm Sorcery, a magical gift long thought to be extinct, he finds the path laid out before him may not be so easy to stray from. And when the handservant of Fortem Manor is found dead on a dusty, quiet road, Deven quickly realises that he may have to show the same courage that his father possessed on the battlefields of old. As war threatens to consume the continent, an emotionless sadist long thought dead will force Deven to face betrayal, death, and a question he never Can he survive when the sins from his father’s past come back for blood, or will he become another casualty of a soulless evil who basks in the bloodshed of his victims?