Saradon rules Pelenor with an iron fist. The Court of Tournai is beholden to him. A new Order, loyal to the Dark One of Altarea, rises under his dominion. Trapped under his control, Harper and Dimitri are forced to ally to survive, but neither can protect the other from Saradon's orders. Harper finds herself drawn into a darkness from which she cannot escape. Love and friendship endure even in the darkest times, but they may not be enough to turn the tide. Her former companions cannot hope to save her, stranded in the dwarven realm of Valtivar. Korrin is determined to wrest control of the mountains back from Saradon and the goblin scourge, but the cost will be high, and the dwarves cannot prevail alone. Ragnar must decide where his loyalties lay; with the family he has chosen, or the kin bound to him by blood. The companions know Erendriel's edicts; the only scraps of faint hope any of them can cling to, but Pelenor is without allies and falls from within. Aedon only sees one choice. He must journey far to beseech help from an unlikely ally - one who would sooner see Aedon dead than treat with him. War comes for Pelenor. The Dark One of Altarea will have his dominion. Will Pelenor be the first to fall, or can Harper and her far-flung companions somehow avert catastrophe?