At Great Court on Zirrus, King Tenelon dies and his half-sister, Virrisian, ascends the throne.Tenelon's queen is delivered of a still-born child - or so the World is told.

Shaeli and her family are flying to Cave to Winter with the rest of the Traders. Her mother has delivered twins - or so the World is told.

As the years pass, Shaeli discovers she has a gift for stone-channelling, a gift usually given to elves - like her friend, Williver, who she meets in dreams. She leaves her family to be apprenticed to a master thrower, and she lives in the city beneath Great Court, where the shadow of Queen Virrisian has grown dark over the Land.

When the shadow reaches out for her family, will Shaeli be able to stop them and all the Lands from being swept into that darkness?