Garion, Ce'Nedra and their companions, including Belgarath and his daughter, continue their quest Garion knows that the mysterious Zandramas is responsible for abducting his infant son and the band travels far and meets many strange things in the search for her They traverse the foul swamps of Nyissa, ruled by the Snake-Queen, then the dark kingdon of the Murgos, where human sacrifices are still made to the dead god Torak Further on, though, is the ultimate danger, not only to themselves, but to all mankind