Vere has found sanctuary in Nogaynos, but now the time has come to explore the new world she has found. Little is known about the mysterious land of enchantment. Was anyone left alive after the Caelian invasion? What really happened when the Caelian attacked? Nor was a child when she was taken from her beloved Granny and made a slave. She is still a child, technically, but when her slaver joins forces with a brute who has with him a young puppy he abuses, she is forced to intervene. And once she has done that, she must take him and the old stable dog who joins them to the only place they may find safety--Nogaynos. King Marc, in Amadea, struggles to find ways to deal with the Caelian incursions in the south of his country, with only limited success as his sons, Nehl and Freddy, continue to be thorns in his side. Vere's strategies work, but he has few archers and the cavalry support he can give them is sharply limited. And, the question remains at the back of his mind, where is Vere? Nogaynos yields her secrets only slowly and reluctantly, and only to a chosen few.