There is no peace for King Brind'Amour's newly liberated Eriador, as Avon's evil King Greensparrow breaks the truce with border massacres and demon sorcery. War is inevitable, but would be suicidal. Even when allied with DunDarrow dwarfs, Fairborn elves, and the Riders of Eradoch, the peasant armies led by Luthien Bedwyr and his friends are hopelessly outmatched by Avon's Cyclopian legions. Meanwhile, Brind'Amour's magic must face the fiends of Avon's sorcerous dukes... Then suddenly, Luthien is captured by Huegoth raiders and gains some astonishing information about the fate of his lost brother. Lady Deanna Wellworth discovers that she is the rightful heir to Avon's throne. And the lord of wild, distant Baranduine begins a desperate campaign to free his land from Greensparrow. Now battle will be joined on mountain, plain, and swamp, on land, sea, and in the air - in a war of courage and dire wizardries. Yet in the end, all the valor of Eriador, and all the daring of Luthien's magical alter ego, the Crimson Shadow, may not be enough to vanquish Greensparrow's ultimate weapon. For Greensparrow isn't merely allied with the hell-monster he plans to unleash: Greensparrow is the vast and terrible being that once withstood the combined might of the ancient Brotherhood of Wizards. And in centuries of plotting world conquest, the beast has murdered the sleeping mages. Except one. Heir to a dying magic, Brind'Amour must stand alone...