At a Lightworld royal gala, Queene Ayla announces the betrothal of her daughter, Cerridwen, to a high-ranking councilor. Though strategically brilliant, the engagement comes as a shock—to Cerridwen especially. Infuriated by her mother's high-handedness, ignorant of her own true origins, she flees the court—leaving herself vulnerable to those who would see the Lightworld destroyed.Amid burgeoning unrest, desperate desires become divided loyalties and terrifying mercenaries lurk in the shadowy space between rebellion and anarchy.