Returning to the heart of the Church of Regents to confront the Grand Regent, Dejian Molijc, proves too much for Laila Johar. She loses control of her mind and body and is imprisoned again by the man she once loved. With her captive, David Aeida returns, still loyal to the Grand Regent, and so begins a battle that will determine both their fates.At the center of that struggle is the Grand Regent, an almost unrecognizable figure. He is disturbed and paranoid, isolated in his tower, and thirsting for vengeance against those he feels have wronged him. For the moment he trusts Aeida, but what he wants is Laila restored, and he expects Aeida to deliver her to him.That is only the beginning of their problems. For the Seeker and the Society of Travelers remain to play their parts. Both desire nothing more than the utter destruction of the Church of Regents and all its works, and there is every chance they will get caught in the crossfire.The epic fourth volume of the Sojourners Cycle centers upon the many betrayals and lies at the heart of the faith of the Church of Regents and the devastation upon the lives of the faithful they have wrought. Desire and guilt, love and revenge, rage and despair will drive them all, with consequences for all the universes.