One man's search for a way to cheat death, and one woman's quest to stop him
Death is a mystery, but not to Starling. She has vowed to guard its secrets, to stop them being used to destroy all things. But the cost is grim: she is the sole survivor of all her kin. Hidden in her forest home, Starling fears loneliness, but also the King who hungers for the power her knowledge could bring.
Braega grew up a loyal soldier, never caring that the army which raised him also murdered his tribe. Not until the spirits of the dead condemn him for serving their enemy. As punishment, they offer his soul to a demon, just as a powerful man, whose wife he pursued, determines to execute him.
Only Starling can help: if she does, he promises to be her companion, but will she break her vows for him? And in seeking her out, Braega has exposed her to the followers of the King. She must flee her sanctuary and the predatory forces that serve him, and she must stop Braega from revealing her secrets, even if it means sacrificing him.
As they run for their lives, they will touch and change forever the lives of many others in their desperate search for salvation.