Compelled to join forces with her life-long enemy, the Praetor, Ilan sets out to defend her friends in Dimmingwood from the murderous raiders across the border. But when Ilan, Terrac, and the Fists in their command enter Skeltai territory through a magic portal, they find themselves in more danger than they bargained for. Their only hope of returning home alive may lie in sacrificing the thing Ilan values most -- her enchanted bow. As Ilan works to save her companions, she grapples with newfound feelings for an old friend and uncovers an unexpected truth about her origins. Will the answers she has worked so long to discover prove to be her final undoing?