In the city of Ravenscrag a baby is about to be born. This baby, son to Lord Flarefist and Lady Sheerquine, will set in train a series of bloody and horrific events, culminating in the summoning of a force with the power to destroy Ravenscrag and all in it. Into this scene rides Ronbas Dinbig, merchant-adventurer, who sees a way to make money - and to make love to a beautiful woman. But Dinbig little suspects that he will be forced, by dint of sorcerous talents and at the peril of his life, to search for the baby when it disappears, leaving a monster in its place. And then Flarefist's only other child, the mysterious teenage girl, Moonblood, also vanishes. Darkness draws around Ravenscrag, and Dinbig battles for the survival of body and soul as he disentangles the age-old prophecy and bane which has reached out to bring disaster.