Having learned the identity of her father’s assassin, Adare flees the Dawn Palace searching for allies to challenge the conspiracy against her family members. Few trust her, but when she is believed to be touched by Intarra, patron goddess of the Annurian Empire, the people rally to greatly help her retake the capital city. As armies prepare to clash, the risk of invasion from barbarian hordes compels the rival forces to unite against their common foe. Unknown to Adare, she actually is also on the collision course with her sibling Valyn, renegade member of the empire’s most top notch fighting force, the Kettral. The awful choices they encounter may make battle between them inevitable. Fighting his own battles is usually their brother Kaden, rightful heir to the Unhewn Throne, who has infiltrated the Annurian capital by using two strange companions. The actions Kaden takes, and understanding he obtains of the secret history that designs these events, may save Annur…or eliminate it.