In Skunnik, the provincial capital of the Acrinite Province, Captain Jarn Theffig of the Vothan Riders is ordered to find a young woman who has been abducted. Suspects are many, but clues are few, so Jarn coerces the sorceress Astil to help him find the victim. Astil is the finest tracker in the known world, but she's also a master criminal who has often been at odds with the Vothan Riders. Astil is only one of the problems plaguing the case. The Acrinite Province, where Jarn and his Riders try to keep the peace, was enemy territory only a year before, when the Voths reclaimed land that was rightfully theirs. Ever since the takeover, rebels have been murdering Acrinite collaborators and plotting against the hated Voths. Jarn must also depend on the remnants of the Acrinite Guard, soldiers known as Yellowshirts, who for a thousand years were the sworn adversaries of the Vothan Riders. Adding more political intrigue, a treaty with a neighboring realm depends on the outcome of Jarn's investigation.