While Brion has discovered his true identity and survived the plots to kill him, his Carpentini mother he thought long dead has been driven into hiding and Brion and Finola venture into the heathland to find her. When they discover that the Dunkeldi king has outlawed the Carpentini and Salassani and is hunting them to extinction, Brion and Finola race to find his mother before it is too late. They soon realize that they are embroiled in a war for the heathland and for the heart and soul of its people. The Bracari besiege the desperate remnant of the Carpentini and Salassani in their last refuge in the Aveen Mountains. Meanwhile, King Emyr makes a reckless gamble to unite the entire island under his rule. Now Brion must decide between saving his mother and his wife or saving King Emyr and the whole of the Frei-Ock Isle from chaos and bloodshed. If he chooses wrong, he may lose everything and everyone he cares about.