A young woman arrives at Aydindril to petition for the help of the First Wizard in one of the many desperate conflicts in the war against D'Hara and the vicious rule of Panis Rahl. Little does the First Wizard, much less the woman herself know that the woman's Debt of Bones - a deal struck years before committing the Wizard to action - will tie him to a course of action that will result in cataclysmic duel of magic with Panis Rahl himself.