Gabriel Huntermoon, during a Crusade to the East with the Knights of Kennar, discovers that his family has been murdered, his castle burned down and that a charge of treason hangs over him. While investigating to discover a truth buried 12 years earlier, Gabriel must defend himself and his companions from the spells of the Vizerath their only hope are the Virtues, magical fighting techniques handed down to the knights of his House. However, often his best weapon is the protection of Yasshira, a young Vizerath witch who loves him madly. In the East the Crusader commander, Kalahad Harteneis, rediscovers memories of another life and long lost feelings when he meets Aranya, the last descendant of the Royal House of Vizerath. The Orientals see in her the 'Pure Maiden' of the Prophecies who will save them all from the horrors of Oloorna Karsha, a time of darkness and terror in which humans, no longer protected by the Gods, risk extinction at the hands of Trolls, Orcs and Demons. Kalahad and Aranya, as well as Gabriel, Yasshira, Rhiannon, Valisha and Faetheel, are tormented by dreams and visions of a previous life in which they were Alasheers, the terrible heavenly Gods. In fact, every thousand years they must enter human bodies to experience feelings, which are forbidden in their perfect society, becoming victims of passions and feelings so strong that they become mad with pain, anger, lust or love, a madness that makes their powers dangerous and unpredictable...