TAELON is afraid of himself, and the darkness in his veins . He's determined to search the entire continent for Ingrith, while fighting against the delicate memories of his childhood, the shame of his blood, and the possibility that his tormentor is his birth father.

JAMES fears nothing, except that he'll come to nothing. Recently escaped from slavery, he has little left but his pride, a hunger for vengeance, and endearing affection for Judeth, his first love. When he joins paths with a young man striving for the same things, his situation looks up for the first time in years. But though he's long since left the mountain caves behind, they still cling to him.

HESTER hides her beauty, and heart, behind a wall of thorns. A runaway slave, abandoned by everyone who should have taken care of her, and left to be a mother to her younger brother, Hester wants nothing more than to feel and be treated like a woman. Girls like her aren't supposed to dream of a better world, but HE makes her think she has a chance.

ICTHYS is terrified of his mortality. He has spent the last two years bringing in women and trying to find his granddaughter, to no effect. Betrayal is around every corner, even from the woman who comforts him. There may be no choice but for him to rely on more devious methods. He'll go to any length to see Sunah broken and made his own.

SOLDANA fears what has and will be done. She's caught between her duty to serve her lord, protecting the sister who doesn't know she exists, and what she wants for her own life. She did something terrible and knows she has to make amends, but nothing is turning out how she expected.

JUDETH (Ingrith) refuses to accept she'll never have her life back. She toils as a slave in Radkka by day and lives in fear of the soldiers who visit the other women by night. No girl is safe, and she knows it's only a matter of time before her unknown guardian falters and she's brought under cruel eyes. She dreams of going home, to her daughter, to the man she loves, and to everyone she grew to know and care for. She'll do anything, risk anything, give anything.

BUT none of them know there's so much more to their world, to each other, to the war, than they can comprehend. Their choices and actions will lead to one of two outcomes: The end of the mortal gods, and Radkka as they know it. Or the end of the world of men.