The midwinter festival is supposed to celebrate magic, not murder...

For Abyowith, going to Abraniotok's Festival of Magic was a way to feel better about her first winter away from home. But when her girlfriend Lisyrith tries to confess her love using paired magic rings, Abyowith panics – and not just because she can't make magic work.

Then, as Abyowith is trying to find a way to explain it all, a giant miscreation leaps on the festival stage, bites a magician in half, and runs off into the city.

As the knights search for the monster, Abyowith and the Stalkers must learn who sent the beast and why. Only no one seems to know who the victim was, let alone have a reason to kill them.

Now, with more victims appearing and mobs of enraged citizens taking to the streets, Abyowith must stop the miscreation and find the one who sent it before the city descends into chaos.

...and she still needs to figure out what to say to Lisyrith.