The bold attempt on the Jin Dara's life has failed. Meanwhile, Kaden Omiir and the Amhuru discover that a third fragment of the Golden Cord has been taken by the ferocious Graymir, and a desperate mission is launched to retrieve it, even as revelations about this strange people and their devotion to the mysterious Nekron opens a window into the darkest recesses of the world's distant past. And yet, as the Jin Dara grows even stronger, betrayal from within threatens the security of the Amhuru as much as all these challenges from without. Will Draagan's new plan to seek aid from the renegade Jaen's backfire? Will division lead to the downfall of the Amhuru? Can anything stop the Jin Dara from taking full possession of the Golden Cord?