Roland has kept the evil Maerlyn's Grapefruit and has become obsessed with peering into its pinkish depths despite the deadly toll it's taken on his health. And what the young gunslinger sees brings him the darkest of nightmares.

Roland, Alain, and Cuthbert return safely to their home in Gilead, but all is not well—Roland has kept the evil Maerlyn's Grapefruit and is obsessed with peering into its pinkish depths, and what the young gunslinger sees brings him the darkest of nightmares.