In the peaceful land of the Rhiddaer, Jahdo the ratcatcher's son stumbles unwittingly upon a clandestine meeting - between an ambitious councilman and a dangerous, mysterious woman . . .

So begins a sequence of events that tangles Jahdo in a web of intrigue and black magic which will drag him far from his beloved home. In the company of Meer, an eyeless bard of the Horsekin, Jahdo must journey to Deverry to unravel the evil that binds him.

Soon he is caught up in dangers greater than any of his kind could ever of conceived. Two powerful sorcerers are battling to save a country from a godess gone mad. If they don't succeed, the consequences would be unthinkable . . .