Christophe Maides has conquered Cwmdu and the flaxen-haired woman bred of the valley. The mountains surrounding his new home pose no threat, nor does Morgan Cwmdu, whose venom has tormented his beloved wife, Caryl Gernant, for months, yet he cannot conquer the dreams torturing his nights and separating him from the only woman he has ever loved. With the appearance of three hunters, Christophe is catapulted into a past he has striven to forget. In the eldest hunter, he sees the man he might have been, the man his wife deserves. The memories of his youth have driven him to conceal his heart even from his closest friend. Reluctance to accept the truth drives him to an act of violence that costs him all he has fought to win. Caryl Gernant has always known the truth in her heart and is eager to hear Rizah Izberec's story, despite Christophe's reluctance. To make reparation for his violent act, Christophe faces his past and listens without protest to the tale of Gilles de Maides and his Haiastan slave's life together. Though he denies there can be any truth in the tale this hunter tells, he cannot deny the resemblance he shares with the hunters, a physical similarity that links them to his own father.