Times are truly desperate within Averalaan's hundred holdings, and Jewel MArkess and her den are finding it hard to survive. Then suddenly their mentor Rath orders them to avoid the ancient Undercity beneath Averlaan's streets, cutting them off from their main source of income. Yet Rath himself refuses to heed the warnings of Jewel's seer dreams. Instead, he allies with the mages of the Order of Knowledge in a secret war against demonic foes, knowing he'll be targeted for death-or worse.

In a last attempt to protect Jewel and her den, he writes a note of introduction to the head of House Terafin-the sister he's sworn never to contact. For only within then Terafin manse would the den stand a chance of escaping the unnatural forces reaching out to claim them...