From the author of the award-winning FitzDuncan series comes a new adventure... On an uncharted island in the middle of the ocean, a man more dead than alive lies on the beach. When he regains consciousness after being rescued by the inhabitants, he remembers almost nothing. Even his name is only a guess. In another part of the world, the king of Boreas is dead, the victim of an assassination. Two lieutenants of the Palace Guard suspect a powerful member of the court is behind it. One leaves to find the king's brother, knowing that his hasty departure will taint him with the appearance of guilt, but, played correctly, it is the only way his friend can avoid becoming a target of the man they suspect is behind the king's death. After a dangerous midwinter sailing across the Solortus ocean to the southern continent, the lieutenant finds Auster, his country's allies, under attack by a mutual enemy. With a young woman acting as his guide, he sets off to sound the alarm. While they succeed in thwarting the enemy advance, the lieutenant begins to suspect events in Boreas and Auster are linked, parts of a much greater scheme. So begins a tale of action and adventure, set in a fictional medieval world, written by award-winning author John J. Spearman.