God's judgment hangs over the city of Obann, still in the hands of usurpers. Can the city be called to repentance in time to save it from destruction? Lord Orth must return to the city to preach mercy and repentance, and Ellayne and Jack must get him there safely, past the tyrant's men who've sworn to kill him.

A nation of cruel barbarians, having already wiped out one army sent to stop them, is headed for the city walls; while inside, Lord Chutt probes the mysteries of the ancient past, hungering for more power, more glory. The golden mask made some men kings. Can it make Lord Chutt a god?

And out on the sea, untraveled for a thousand years, an orphan boy sees ships...