With his troop of cavalry taken away from him, Nicodemus Hazeldene finds himself with three ships and all but one of the officers of his old troop. Making the best of a bad situation, he hires a crew for the ships after accepting a commission from a sinister wizard to find the Raven Queen's Amulet of Passage, said to be hidden on the remote Wolftooth Island, unaware that one of his small company of officers is going to betray him.