Perhaps it is best to leave the dead buried. Edward Aethelredson always pays his debts and upholds his promises, even if the most powerful wishes he did not. After all, no good can come from delving into a seven-year-old killing. But Edward owes Bisera, the leader of Achrida’s greatest church, who wants to know why her sister was murdered. He starts digging only to find the answer leads to a darker plot that stretches from the Great City back to Achrida. Traps, pitfalls, and obstacles litter Edward’s path, and each discovery points toward another layer of this cunning plan, one that hides an ancient evil. Adding to Edward’s challenge, old foes reappear to exact vengeance. Crime lords demand their due payment, as well, and countless are the bodies they have already sent to the depths of Lake Achrida. Worse, many of Edward’s greatest allies cannot help. His lover is gone, along with the warrior who guarded his back. His friends are limited by their own promises. And he has not yet completely escaped his past…