The formidable sorceress Nicci has gone by many names and faced many challenges. After driving ruthless Norukai slavers out of Renda Bay, Nicci and her companions - the newly powerless Nathan and the youthful Bannon - continue their perilous journey into unchartled lands.
Guided by the witch-woman Red's mysterious prophecy, the trio makes their way south of Kol Adair towards a wondrous city shrouded behind time, Ildakar. But the grotesque omens on their path to Nathan's salvation - severed Norukai heads on pikes, a monster born of new dark arts, and a petrified army of half a million - are just a taste of the unimaginable horrors that await within the Shroud of Eternity.