For years the land of Ar has lived at peace. Here the catlike mrem rule by duty and honor. Now, from out of the east, their legendary enemies have risen again, sweeping toward Ar to begin their conquest anew. 

Suspected because of his dark fur and magical abilities, Talwe is outcast by his village and sentenced to serve in the White Dancer’s guard. When he rescues the beautiful Princess Sruss, heir to the throne of Ar, he finds himself caught at the center of court intrigue. For as murderous traitors seek to usurp the throne, the ancient Eastern Lords invade with their arsenal of evil sorcery. Only Talwe, Sruss, and the mysterious Council of the Three command the magic necessary to defend the vital border post of Craigsclaw from the power of the Eastern Lords—a deadly force more potent than any the mrem have ever seen.

Under the careful guidance of the catlike mrem, the city of Niau has grown into a prosperous trading center. It lies, however, far to the east—on the very edge of the kingdom of Ar—ever vulnerable to invasion by the mrem’s, legendary enemies, the Eastern Lords. 

Ordered to guard Niau from an attack that may never come, the mercenary Reswen—a veteran of the great battle at Cragslaw—accepts his king’s will. Working undercover, he rises to become chief of the secret police, aware of all the city’s intrigues. When a group of mysterious merchants arrives bearing gifts and hoping to strike a trade agreement, Reswen has his suspicions. Before it’s too late, he must discover the truth behind the visitors’ smiles, and allies himself with a beautiful courtesan-spy and a wayward wizard… whose rusty spells may be Niau‘s only defense against the sinister sorcery of the all-powerful Eastern Lords. 

Counseled by an evil sorcerer, King Talwe has allowed Ar to fall into a fatal decadence. He has exiled his faithful lieutenant Paralan, and banished the concubine who is bearing his child to the barbaric outpost of Pleir. Now, years later, the young herdsman Falon sets out on a mysterious mission to the border city of Tizare, accompanied by a would-be wizard and a half-wild child. Their quest is all that stands between Ar and an eternal nightmare of tyranny.