Book two of the award-winning Lens of the World trilogy, this volume finds the half-breed orphan Nazhuret as a modest and fastidious lens grinder. Although he could have chosen an exalted and wealthy life as a noble member of the court, he wishes to live in humble and undisturbed poverty with his lady Arlin.

But the ordinary life that Nazhuret wants is abruptly shattered when a vicious attack by paid assassins forces him to run. With possible enemies on all sides, the only place to go is the neighboring kingdom of Rezhmia, where Nazhuret has an ancient blood-tie. However, he finds that Rezhmia is no safe haven, for dark clouds are gathering there, intent on destruction of the homeland of Nazhuret's heart. Evil tidings, treacherous family members, and powerful sorcery threaten to overtake him, but Nazhuret must survive for the sake of those he loves.

"The understated and unusual fantasy series begun in Lens of the World continues to delight in this second volume. . . . MacAvoy's series has some of the flavor and subtlety of Gene Wolfe's modern classic The Book of the New Sun, but her own unique elements--a fascination with shifting genders and the mysteries of death--make this series distinctive in the often monochromatic fantasy field." --Kirkus Reviews

"Nazhuret and his sword-wielding mistress Arlin are provocative, complex people--like the world in which they live." --Library Journal

"Remarkable." --Publishers Weekly