Tavi is ostensibly serving as a page but secretly training to become a spy. When the first lord falls to a sorcerous attack, Tavi and his closest friends and teachers must conceal the lord's condition lest the realm fall into civil war. In the Calderon Valley, a long--forgotten horror awakens and heads for the heart of Alera, while Tavi's closest relative, the newly appointed Steadholder Isana, faces at least two sets of assassins.
Tavi is ostensibly serving as a page but secretly training to become a spy. When the first lord falls to a sorcerous attack, Tavi and his closest friends and teachers must conceal the lord's condition lest the realm fall into civil war. In the Calderon Valley, a long--forgotten horror awakens and heads for the heart of Alera, while Tavi's closest relative, the newly appointed Steadholder Isana, faces at least two sets of assassins.