Mandir would rather wrestle a lion with his bare hands than confront the dark secrets of his past. He’s a quradum, one of the Coalition’s magic-using warriors, and when the Coalition elders send him to his childhood home to recruit a boy with magical abilities, Mandir must face his sadistic father and the family he hoped never to see again.

Taya, his partner and lover, arranges to join him on the mission, knowing that Mandir will need the support of a companion he trusts. But when someone in the household is murdered and Mandir finds himself the prime suspect, Taya will need all her wits, not to mention her fire magic, in order to clear his name.