As an exile studying the healing arts in a foreign land, Alswyn hides the details of her troubled past and the true reason she was banished from her homeland.

But when the king's foreign bride falls prey to a mysterious illness, Alswyn must face the man who ordered her exile and use her knowledge of dark magic to catch the ash sorcerer before the countryside is plunged back into a bitter war.

Unfortunately, digging up the bones of Alswyn's past may well prove fatal to her soul.