picks up where left off in a tale of community and compassion . . . Fred Thorne set out to find safety and security. And he has found it - in the tiny but open-armed mountain village called Ceristen. But Ceristen's contentment is threatened by other new arrivals, ones who may find it harder to adjust. Fiona Segelas has left behind the windy, austere crags of Erahar and a noblewoman's title and privileges. But her heart still lingers with them, and, imprisoned by shyness, her mind yearns for someone she can call friend... Mordred Kenhelm's life revolves around survival. Orden seems like a promise of the new and the better - until disaster strikes, undermining whatever trust he had left in humanity. Discord stirs. Pain festers. Romance unfurls.