The setting is a world of eternal winter, where once thrived hot climates and exotic luxury. Saphay, daughter of a subking in the more civilised west, is sent off to marry a leader of the barbaric Jafn, not realising that her own father has arranged for her to be betrayed and abducted on her icy journey.

But, escaping her pursuers on the back of a giant whale, Saphay is discovered alive - entombed in an ice-pyramid - by her intended husband, and the marriage proceeds. But, all too soon, she carries a child, causing dark suspicions regarding the infant's true origins ... And as her son grows up in wintery exile, it is soon evident that in him is emerging a hero with a very special destiny.

Populated by outlandish creatures and exotic landscapes, this is a luscious, luxurious, colourful epic adventure full of the twists and turns and spellbinding imagination that only Tanith Lee can magically conjure.