After scant days in his "real" world, Thomas Covenant finds himself again summoned to a strange world of magic and Earthpower. There, forty bitter years have passed, while Lord Foul, immortal enemy of the Land, moves to fulfill his prophecy of doom—his countless minions are already on the march, cutting a devastating swath of destruction across the Land.

The Council of Lords find their spells useless, however, now that Foul the Despiser holds the Illearth Stone, the ancient talisman of evil. High Lord Elena turns in desperation to Covenant and the legendary wild magic of his ring, but nobody knows how to use the white gold—least of all Thomas Covenant himself.