The overthrow of Tabini-aiji, the atevi head of state, and the several moves of enemies even since his restoration have prompted major changes in the Assassins' Guild. With the Assassins now rid of internal corruption, stability seems to have returned to the atevi world.
Bren Cameron, Tabini-aiji's personal representative, was ready to take a well-earned rest until Tabini's grandmother, Ilisidi, claimed his services on a train trip to the most remote of the provinces, snowy Hasjuran. Tabini-aiji gave Bren a private instruction: protect her. Advise her.
Advise her - perhaps. But the aiji-dowager has also invited a dangerously independent young warlord, Machigi, and a young man who may be the heir to Ajuri, a key northern province. The question is why the dowager is taking this ill-assorted pair to Hasjuran and what she may be up to.
Protect her? Ilisidi is hell bent on settling scores with the Shadow Guild, and her reasons for this trip and this company now become clear. One human diplomat and his own bodyguard suddenly seem a very small force to defend her from the forces she is setting in motion.