"Gemmell not only knows how to tell a story, he knows how to tell a story you want to hear. He does high adventure as it ought to be done."-Greg Keyes, author of The Briar King

One awesome night, the sadistic, seemingly invincible Daroth vanished from the face of the earth. Gone were their cities, their armies, their reigns of terror. Not a trace of this conquering race remained. Until a thousand years later. . . . With the rising of a dark moon above the Great Northern Desert, comes a black tidal wave that sweeps across the land. Suddenly, the desert vanishes beneath lush fields and forests and a great city glitters in the morning light. From this city reemerges the blood-hungry Daroth, powerful and immortal, immune to spear and sword. They have only one desire: to rid the world of humankind forever. Now the fate of the human race rests on the talents of three heroes: Karis, warrior-woman and strategist; Tarantio, the deadliest swordsman of the age; and Duvodas the Healer, who will learn a gruesome truth.

"Gemmell's great reading; the action never lets up; he's several rungs above the good-right into the fabulous!"-Anne McCaffrey