The formidable sorceress Nicci and her companions-the recently powerless Nathan and the youthful Bannon-set from another quest after driving ruthless Norukai slavers away of Renda Bay. Their objective: restore Nathan’s magic and, for Nicci, conserve the world.

Guided by the witch woman Red’s mysterious prophecy, the trio makes their way south of Kol Adair toward a wondrous city shrouded behind time, Ildakar. However the grotesque omens on the way to Nathan’s salvation-severed Norukai mind on pikes, a genetically modified monster, and a petrified military of half a million-are just a taste from the unimaginable horrors that await within the Shroud of Eternity.