Jakob Kayne and his brother Samuel are the last of the Hippocrats. Sworn to treat those in need (and those who are deemed worthy), the two Healer-Alchemists have been tracked across the Archipelagos by manifold enemies, including the Inquisition. On his latest mission, Jakob, a formidable Memory-Eater whose face none can recall, is confronted by an obstacle as unexpected as it is persistent: feelings for his latest patient, Victoria Marcheda, amid the fiery destruction of the city of La Isabela.