Tormjere has never left his home valley in the Kingdom of Actondel, peaceful in its isolation from both monsters and men. When his first journey into the outside world meets with disaster, the boy is suddenly thrust into a role for which he is ill-prepared: guiding a blind priest on a quest to fulfill his holy destiny. Yet nothing is as simple as it first appears. Confronted with a mystery that leaves them little hope of success, they are forced into an uneasy alliance with secretive wizards and dubious friends. Their path is soon beset by beasts and deadly betrayals, and leads them to places they were never meant to go. As the consequences of Tormjere's decisions mount, he finds himself pitted against friend and foe alike, even as their very survival hangs in the balance.