Daughter of the Lord of Thieves, Sette Frummagem is on a mission, and she'll lie, cheat, and steal to make sure it's a success (she'll lie, cheat, and steal anyway). Condemned to aid her in her rotten endeavours is a rotten corpse who seems oddly talented with the supernatural, and oddly not laying motionless in the dirt. The road is long and no one is what they seem. Never trust a thief, and never trust anyone who won't let you look into their eyes.

Duane and Sette reach her cousin's city but must first tangle with the kidnappers and their mercenary spellcaster. Meanwhile one of their captives, young Jivi, makes a break for it on his own.