In Volume One, "The Girl and the Guardian", Shelley Arkle ended up alone in the terrible Valley of Thorns, with only a half-crazed Third-lifer, the serpent Thornfoot, to help her. Now Thornfoot seems to be her only hope. But his idea for escape looks more like suicide to her...The stakes have been raised much, much higher for Shelley; Korman the Guardian who was her faithful companion and guide has been captured by the Aghmaath and enthorned beside the Lady Ainenia, the representative of the Goddess on Aeden. Shelley, it seems, is now Aeden's only hope. She must find the magical school of Ürak Tara, deep underground, lost in the mists and mindwebs of the forests of the Northern Arm. Only there can she be initiated as the Kortana. But will Noestes the Master welcome as a student a strange girl who thinks she is the Chosen One, the Jewel Caller who will find the lost Heartstone? And if he does, what is his real agenda? The sinister Tenth-Worlders have been active even in this last refuge of the faithful to the ancient Order of the Makers... Yet at this school Shelley will meet new allies and friends who still hope for the coming of the Kortana, and are willing to believe in her.Meanwhile Quickblade the leader of the Boy Raiders has sworn to meet her at Ürak Tara, no matter what stands between them. And he is about to pay a terrible price as the Raiders' campaign goes horribly wrong. The two star-crossed lovers are determined to seek the lost Jewel together. But are they ready for a challenge even more deadly than the mindbolts and scythes of the Dark Travellers - a challenge to their faith in each other, and love itself?As the thorn spores and mindwebs cover Aeden, the Tree of Life is compromised and hope turns into despair, is there any place of refuge left? Can love overcome even death? Shelley and Quickblade - and the friends they have led into mortal danger - are about to find out. Prepare for a rollercoaster ride into depths and heights Shelley - and Quickblade - could not have imagined until now.