The Valley was only the beginning... After the events of the Valley, and with the safety of mankind secured, a tenuous peace between the Three Great Nations has been brokered. However, that peace is threatened when Ophelia's sister unexpectedly returns from Balmorea with word of a plot against Ophelia's life. Dangerous secrets from within the Balmorean court are revealed and amid it all, one truth becomes very clear-things in Balmorea are not as they seem. Meanwhile, an evil magic, discovered far in the east, threatens the balance of the realms. Both the Land and Sea Vilici have attempted to destroy it, to no avail, and are once again forced to call upon Ophelia for aid. Despite the target on her back, Ophelia is left with little choice but to journey into enemy territory and find a way to destroy the sinister magic before the realms are thrown even further out of balance. But the closer Ophelia gets to uncovering the truth, the more she discovers just how deep Balmorea's blood-soaked secrets run-and the lengths to which some are willing to go to keep those secrets hidden.