This fifth volume in the Dica series starts out with Prescinda Sodbuster, leaving behind her unhappy marriage and the fishing village of Grayden, on her way back to her old family home of Blisteraising Farm. But before she can board the coachbank, Lord Nephril turns up out of the blue, carrying a mysterious request he's reluctant to explain. It's something to do with the miraculous mirage that's occasionally seen from the viewing gallery at the Scarra Face. That, and the need Falmeard has of Prescinda's unique view on life. But she has no idea that a dangerous journey lies ahead: a race to the discovery of some uncomfortable truths about the Realm of Dica and its people. What they find is a hidden threat within Dica, putting not only the castle and its inhabitants at risk, but the very survival of all of life itself. Can Prescinda, Nephril and Falmeard unearth the threat, then expose it and banish it for ever? And by it, return Dica to its original purpose, as the founding fathers had long ago envisaged through the artist's eye?