Erik Vespin has seen enough of war. After a vicious, year-long siege in the frigid mountains that form the eastern border of the Kingdom of Tyrsiln, he was supposed to be returning home. Queen Estrid, however, has called him to the city of Raine. Erik knew that the Queen was old, but the situation has grown only worse in his absence. The Crown Princess has contracted a wasting disease which affects the lungs, and her illness is growing worse. The royal physicians have given up. The university refuses to help the crown. There is nobody to take the throne, the Royal Council has become corrupt, and the Baronial Court has become a quagmire of politicians unable to come to an agreement. The Kingdom stands on the brink of civil war unless, by some miracle, the Crown Princess recovers. The worst for Erik, however, is that the only person left who seems either able or willing to help is Ileana Thallion, a former university student who is a close friend and confidant of the Crown Princess.
Ileana, for her own part, has already found a trail, albeit a faint one, which could lead to a cure for the Crown Princess. She cannot, however, simply pursue the lead on her own. She needs both official recognition, and someone who can watch her back while she works. So, Ileana turns to Erik, the only person whom she feels she is able to trust in the city of Raine. While at the university, the two find a scroll which doesn't officially exist, and they are forced to take their work away from the city when people start dying over it. The scroll describes a powerful curative: the Aos Si's Gift...