Peace has returned to the Setor Empire. A new emperor sits on the throne. Setor's nemesis, the sorceress Illisandra Zayla, died in a river tower soon after the thief Stealth rescued Prince Derrius Hextor from kidnappers. But an amnesic woman walks the warrens of the border city of Opal, and when she regains her memory she'll decide the fate of the empire.

In the Winter Palace, the emperor's brother Myron has been corrupted by tainted magic and plots a civil war. Soon, a cataclysmic battle will take place, one that will be the scene of powerful war magic not unleashed in a thousand years. Stealth has her own battle to wage inside the walls of the Winter Palace. Enraged by the sexual intrigues, she must decide if she'll stay with her lover Derrius or steal away to resume her thieving ways. What Stealth and the amnesic woman decide will not only determine the coming battle's winner but the fate of the magical sword Larenia's Shadow, hidden away inside the Assassins' Guild's mountaintop keep.