Lewis Deathstalker is on the run, with an evil Empire snapping at his heels. He and his companions, the diva Jesamine Flowers, the conman Brett Random, the psychopath Rose Constantine and a reptiloid called Saturday, travel from world to world, searching for help and answers to the mysteries of the past. On the planet Unseeli, they talk with what remains of the traitor Carrion, and the ghost of a man called Silence. On Lachrymae Christi, an old legend called Tobias Moon tells them the truth behind the legends. On Shandrakor, they explore the ruins of the old Deathstalker Standing, and fight with more than one kind of monster. And on Haden, finally, they come to the Madness Maze, and the culmination of Lewis's epic quest: the return of Owen Deathstalker.