"In the time of Sorrow, one shall take shelter under the Dead, and there be met by the Crooked Man.”An uneasy peace has descended over the World Apparent. The Winter Realm and the Old Kingdom are recovering from the cataclysmic events of the Twelfth Reconquest, while in the south, the Djanki and the Sharib retreat to lick their wounds from the battle at Temple Rock. To the east, the divided Empire of Temeria is nearing the end of a long civil war, in which rival Generals have fought like mad dogs to seize the long-vacant Imperial Throne.Sorrow and Bail journey through The High Places, doing their best not be noticed by the fearsome inhabitants. Bail begins to understand that there may be more to this innocent child than meets the eye. Felipe has escaped the battle at The Field of the White Bull with his life. Now a fugitive from General Anma's forces, he seeks shelter with a hermit in the nearby swamp. But how long can he resist the Grand Master's iron will?