After the explosive conclusion to Call of the Hero, Cyrus Davidon and company find themselves in direst straits: cast adrift in the wider world, split from one another, and with nowhere to run. Alaric Garaunt is soon at the mercy of dangerous airship pirates while Vaste the troll is trapped in a city riven by civil war, elves and humans and each others' throats. Death waits at every turn, and no help is coming.

Meanwhile, Cyrus himself is split from his love, and trapped in the darkness with an old friend who might just turn out to be a new enemy. With time ticking down to the end of all that the Sanctuary crew have known, the only question is...will they save themselves and each other in time?