One of the long-lost books of the late Witch-King has been found. Its pages promise unimaginable powers--and the threat of death. But even the fact that the book kills anyone foolish enough to crack its cover does not keep people from fighting over it.

Assassin Artemis Entreri and his companion, Jarlaxle, have come to the demon-haunted wastelands of the frozen north at the request of their dragon patron. Before long, they are trapped in a struggle between powerful forces that would like nothing more than to see them both dead. But Entreri and Jarlaxle aren't just any wandering sellswords, and the ancient evils and bitter feuds of the wild Bloodstone Lands may have finally met their match.