For 312 years the rotstorm has blighted the ruins of the Ferron Empire, spawning twisted monstrosities from its nightmarish depths. The men and women of the Stormguard defend the Undal Protectorate from the worst of its corruption, but behind the storm front, something is stirring, kindling the embers of an ancient conflict and a plan to kill a god. Will Stormguard steel be enough to meet the coming tempest?

As the children of the storm carve a bloody swathe across the Northern Marches, the whitestaffs — the Protectorate’s healers and sages — have fled, retreating to their island citadel of Riven.

Their withdrawal has weakened the realm, and worse, their absence is a death sentence for Floré’s daughter Marta. Skein-sick, Marta wastes away from the terrible magic she has inherited from her father and only the whitestaffs have the knowledge that might save her.

When Flore is dispatched to reason with the whitestaffs, to bring them back into the fold, she seizes the chance. Her mission could save both the protectorate and her child. But on the island of Iskander, caged and chained, she will only discover the worst betrayal.