With Catwin's help, Miriel has captured the heart of the King, but their victory has come at a cost: the suspicion and enmity of the Duke, and the unrelenting hatred of the Court. As they recover from the attempt on their lives, the two form a fragile alliance, promising that their first loyalty is to each other, and that their one goal is to survive. But to survive, Catwin and Miriel need power, and the search for power of their own draws them ever further into the Court and inexorably closer to the throne. Enemies surround them, ruthless and vengeful, and the only way forward is a dark path that threatens to sever them from themselves. For it is not only enemies that are a danger Light and Shadow now, but the weakness of their own hearts. As she protects them both, Catwin struggles against her love for Temar, the Duke's assassin; to capture the King's heart, Miriel must forget both her love for Wilhelm, and her passion belief in the populist uprising. A reckoning is coming, a betrayal that has been in the making for decades, and if they are to survive, both Catwin and Miriel must be prepared to give up everything they hold dear.