"This is a well developed knightly tale that promises good things to come." - Piers Anthony Taryn, raised in a pit of squalor, refuses to follow the path of the pickpocket being forced upon her. She sets out on her own, and after an unfortunate run-in finds herself apprenticed to a pallitine knight. Now, apprentice Pallitine Taryn faces many new challenges as a young pallitine in a world of doubt and frustration where little is as it seems. Guided by her mentor, High Pallitine Thoman, she stumbles on an obscure cult and is betrayed by one of her own kind. Left to deal with consequences of the betrayal, and thoughts of her own past, she looks to the future with a wary eye.

Some causes are worth dying for. Surprised by her sudden elevation, Taryn finds her dream of becoming a pallitine isn't what she expected. As she comes to terms with being unable to hunt down the Absolutionists, a past acquaintance seeks her help on a hunt of his own. The resulting journey interrupts her mourning as tragedy strikes, revealing a danger much larger than she thought possible. Forced to face this threat head-on, she struggles to save Arturia as she resigns herself to a horrific fate—becoming a member of the very army she’s fighting to stop.