Exiled from a broken land, two friends try to escape the darkness they left behind them.Together again, Torny and Ebba reach Vellsberg, an outpost of the Southern Empire, hoping for a safe haven. Instead, they find families driven by ambition, a strange young woman who doesn't seem to belong, and the bloody consequences of the Empire's attempt to control the north.When Vellsberg is attacked, they entrust themselves to Aisulu, a lone rider from beyond the eastern edges of the Southern Empire. Betrayed and pursued, they flee through a land succumbing to a strange plague. Invisible flames afflict the penitent, and whispers of a new Martyr and his False Disciple follow at their heels. Unwilling to face the things they've done to survive, Torny and Ebba find themselves torn apart again.After all, what hope is there, when once you have been monstrous? What peace can there be when you have betrayed your own?
