For the Darkborn, the touch of sunlight kills, while darkness is lethal for the Lightborn. For centuries, the two have lived in an uneasy peace, sharing the same city but never meeting. Now, with the rise of the Shadowborn, everything is about to change…
Condemned to death by the Darkborn for practicing sorcery, Lady Telmaine Hearne escaped her fate and is now bound with her mageborn allies for the Borders—and the war brewing there.

Also on the frontlines of the battle between Darkborn and Shadowborn is the assassin Floria White Hand, desperately maneuvering between allies and enemies to bring her Lightborn prince home safe.

The fragile alliance between Lightborn and Darkborn, between mage and non-mage, is endangered. The mage Tammorn is forced to become ambassador to the enemy. And a lifetime fighting the Shadowborn has not prepared Ishmael di Studier for what he will find when he follows the Call from the Shadowlands—and meets the woman behind it…