Yarmian Eventyde arrives in the coastal city of Holbonne after a harrowing hundred-mile trek through a bitterly cold and snow-covered wilderness. His fury at The Black Rose has cooled, and now, all the young WIzzen wants is to remain anonymous, find a peaceful inn, and quietly await the arrival of spring before taking his leave of the place. It's a time to rest and recuperate, or so he believes...

Alas, appearances can indeed be deceiving, and Holbonne certainly isn't the dull, grey and bland city it appears to be on the surface. The seemingly innocuous west coast city has a dark and grim history... and it's a history so well-guarded, it's not permitted to be taught in schools except to pupils over a certain age (and those are few and far between).

Alarmed by a strange event which seems to suggest a sorcerer might be lurking behind the dull façade of Holbonne, and intrigued by the history he learns from one of the regulars at The Whistling Kettle, Yarmian's discreet investigations bring him to the attention of the city's authorities, and Yarmian finds he must turn to Holbonne's criminal underworld for help in bringing to light a terrible, shameful secret...

Sometimes, there's a steep price to be paid for doing the right thing.