Since time began, twenty Gods have ruled the universe. Though each god possessed different abilities, each was all-powerful within his realm. Now one of the Gods has upset the balance of power, leaving the others scrambling for control in the new order... Here is the epic tale of the Great War of the Gods—and the proud people upon whom the fate of the world depends. When the God of the desert, Akhran the Wanderer, declares that two clans must band together despite their centuries-old rivalry, their first response is outrage. But they are a devout people and so reluctantly bow to his bidding. Enemies from birth, the headstrong Prince Khardan and impetuous Princess Zohra must unite in marriage to stop Quar, the God of Reality, Greed, and Law, from enslaving their people. But can Khardan and Zohra keep from betraying each other? Can their two peoples maintain their fragile alliance until the long-awaited flowering of the legendary Rose of the Prophet? Against the powerful legions of the evil Amir, Khardan and Zohra fight to save the desert people—a fight unexpectedly joined by an exiled wizard named Matthew and the mysterious powers of his alien land.

After the overwhelming defeat of their tribes, Khardan and Zohra find themselves prisoners of an evil god's disciples—and in danger of losing their honor, their lives and their souls! Second in yet another of Weis and Hickman's epic fantasies.

Khardan, Zohra, and the wizard Mathew attempt an impossible journey across the vast desert, the Sun's Anvil, to face in combat their mortal enemies, led by Khardan's brother, Achmed