As the great mountain in the west speaks to the sky with a tongue of flame, the Talisman Prophecy is on the verge of fulfilment. The rulers of the Federation beleive that Clearwater's unborn child is the Thrice-Gifted One, and they hold both in their power. Cadillac and Roz, who have combined their formidable talents, are determined to free her, but Steve, lured by the prospect of a dazzling career within the First Family, is no longer certain who to support or betray. He has little time left in which to decide, for in Ne-Issan, home of the Iron Masters, a lone woman intent on avenging her dead lover, is about to plunge her nation into a civil war that will set the whole continent ablaze.