The Silver Hands were one of the best mercenary companies in the kingdom. Now, only one remains. Kain Asheld buried the three people closest to him on a quiet ridge overlooking the valley where they promised to meet. He honors that memory with a deed to a farm, bought with his share of a final bounty and a desperate need for silence. The dream of that new life requires more than just land. Locals call it Madder's Place. It is a disaster of rotting floorboards, collapsed roofs, and fields reclaimed by the wild. The village needs him just as much as he needs the solitude. Support comes from unexpected a young collector named Oren, a sharp-tongued tavern owner named Sorrel, and a trust system that leaves payment in unlocked boxes by the road. As Kain clears the rot from his new home and tracks the wolves harassing the village, he discovers building a life takes its own kind of strength. This is the story of starting over, and of moving on when you can't take the people you love with you.