As the children of the storm carve a bloody swathe across the Northern Marches, the whitestaffs - the Protectorate's healers and sages - have fled, retreating to their island citadel of Riven. Their withdrawal has weakened the realm, and worse, their absence is a death sentence for Floré's daughter Marta. Skein-sick, Marta wastes away from the terrible magic she has inherited from her father and only the whitestaffs have the knowledge that might save her. When Flore is dispatched to reason with the whitestaffs, to bring them back into the fold, she seizes the chance. Her mission could save both the protectorate and her child. But on the island of Iskander, caged and chained, she will only discover the worst betrayal.