The steerswoman Rowan has learned that Slado, a mysterious wizard, has secretly been working spells of incredible power. Both the Inner Lands and the Outskirts are now threatened by his Magic—and before the destruction becomes too great to reverse, Rowan must find Slado so that he can be stopped. But how does one stop the most powerful man in the world?
In the seaside town of Alemeth, the Annex holds centuries of steerswomen’s journals. They may contain clues to Slado’s location, but combing through them would take more time than Rowan has to spend. Then she encounters a lost friend: Janus, one of the few rare steersmen. But Janus quit the order without explanation. Now the bright, beloved companion of Rowan’s student days has become a man dominated by dark moods and even darker secrets.
When sleepy Alemeth transforms into a place of chaos, terror, and sudden death, Rowan wonders if all the secrets are connected. The shocking answer will change the steerswoman—and her world—forever…
Now the steerswoman Rowan has uncovered evidence that the master wizard, Slado, is conjuring dangerous spells in shadow, devastating the distant lands called the Outskirts and changing the course of the world. Rowan has no choice: Slado must be stopped … if he can even be found.
Following a dubious clue, Rowan and her friend Bel, an Outskirter, have come to the city of Donner, seeking answers from the past for a danger in the present. But the secrets go deeper than Rowan had ever imagined, compelling her to wonder: What if all this time she has been asking the wrong questions?