Jack Leigh is a soldier of fortune, a brilliant sword-for-hire. In the dangerous Riverlands dukedom of Rhondia he gets much more than he bargained for. Treachery and dark magic form powerful undercurrents in the citadel. On the canals and in the menacing heart of Nimmenwald lurk unimaginable threats - the bo'zhe, the Lappai, barbarians from Saihabara and the unknowable forces of Nimmenwald Deep. At the crux of a vortex of magic and treason is Rhondia's heir, Michael Sebastian - Seb - d'Astaghir. Haughty, moody, haunted by the goblins of memory, Seb is in terrible jeopardy. It's only luck when his old friend, old lover, Luc Redmayne happens on a streetfight and a 'hired sword' enters the citadel as Seb's bodyguard. With the fresh eyes of an outlander and the shrewdness of a soldier from Yulminster, Jack uncovers the treasonous magic which is simmering beneath Rhondia. But when he and his companions finally lay hands on the Basilisk ring, they unleash the very forces they have feared.