A chilling warning. A fragile alliance. Impending doom.Jerrick Bur returns to a home he doesn't recognize. The King's Patrol has vanished. Their Hall stands empty. An invading army encroaches upon the fringes of the forest and folk whisper of a sitheri witch brewing evil from the darkest hollows.Once a patroller, always a patroller, and so Jerrick is duty-bound to investigate. He is joined by Kayra Weslin, knight errant, and her chronicler, Holly, who go to answer a plea for help from nearby Homewood. Along with Murik Alon Rin'kres, an eslar sorcerer who harbors a secret purpose all his own, the four embark upon a mission to unravel the mystery of the missing patrollers and somehow stop an ancient force of darkness from consuming them all.