India 1857 Young Witch Rosamunde DeLacey has married in haste and is repenting in leisure. Now she is on her way out to India with her familiar, the cat Sinéad, to join her soldier husband who is unfortunately non-magical. Escorting her is her cousin, the Wizard Alan Stillfield, his familiar a ferret named Cathal, and dragon, Brendan. Rosamunde has secretly loved Alan all of her life, and it was to escape seeing him married to another that she so hurriedly wed. Little do they know that they travel to a land seething with rebellion and the worst of necromancy. The northern region of India, where Alan goes to visit a college chum, seems at first to be safer until a devastating illness robs Alan of nearly all of his magic. Rosamunde, too, has waning powers. When the rebellion finally comes she is at the mercy of an evil slaver, who sells her to become the possession of the black sorceress, the Maharani of Jhaniput and her depraved son, the Maharajah, worshippers of the drinker of blood, Kali, the Black One. Only Alan, with little magic at his command, can save his cousin. Her rescue will only come if an ancient prophecy is fulfilled: dragon fire can cleanse the land. Until then Alan must endure the pain of seeing his cousin enslaved by Darkest Magic.