The spellbinding fantasy that began with The Fifth Sorceress and The Gates of Dawn continues...Tristan and his twin sister, Shailiha, are the Chosen Ones, long prophesied to unite the opposing magics of the dark Vagaries and the benevolent Vigors. With the destruction of the Gates of Dawn, it would appear that the ravaged kingdom of Eutracia has been given the chance to cleanse itself, to heal - and the Chosen Ones the opportunity to fulfil their destiny under the tutelage of wizards Wigg and Faegan. But Fate would have it otherwise. For there is another who unknowingly possesses magic in his blood - a magic that, in the wrong hands, could unleash unspeakable evil. To find this unsuspecting soul and understand the threat that now faces them, the Chosen Ones and their allies begin a quest that takes them deep into the mysterious Chambers of Penitence and then across the Sea of Whispers to the sacred Isle of Sanctuary. They are not alone in searching. Krassus, devoted servant of the Vagaries, has dispatched ships of demonic slavers to scour the coast of Eutracia, taking captive men and women and bringing them to the island fortress of the Citadel, where evil dreams take the form of living nightmares. Aided by Tyranny, a pirate as fierce as she is beautiful, Tristan and his sister must destroy the demonslavers' fleet and rescue the ill-fated pawn of magic, now imprisoned in the Citadel. For Krassus seeks to awaken the magic in this one's blood and imbue him with dark enchantments from the mysterious Scrolls of the Ancients - transforming him into an instrument of evil the likes of which the world has never known...and will not long survive.