It is a time for celebration in Tielmark, at long last free from the age-old rule of the decadent but powerful Bissanty empire. Yet as the young glamour witch Gaultry Blas travels to witness the sacred rites which will renew her prince's magical bond to the land and its twin goddesses, she had no idea of the trials that await her and all Tielmark. Foiling an attempt by Bissanty assassins to taint the prince with dark, poisonous magic, she finds herself thrown into the midst of a sinister and dangerous plot. With one of the assassins as her unlikely ally, she must journey deep into the heart of Bissanty-where it will take all her skill and magic to uncover the last hidden ties that bind Tielmark's destiny to that of its depraved former masters...