Shar contends against the shamans who rule. She has won victories, but the prophecy that names her as emperor might still turn to dust. The shamans have set a vast price on her head - ten thousand in gold - and it will test the loyalty of even her friends.

This is the one chance her people have at freedom, and she will not let it pass. Her efforts to raise an army have proved effective, but against an enemy that invokes magic in battle, sharp swords are not enough.

She needs sorcerers of her own, and risks a bold quest to get them. Rumor tells of a hidden prison where men of magic are jailed. If she frees them, they have the power to protect her army. Yet she cannot be sure of their support, for once they were shamans themselves.

Worse, it was her own forefather who imprisoned them...