Sarah of Doire knows the pattern of spells is no accident. With each page, each powerful rune, she and Ruth are being led somewhere, to someone - but by whom, she cannot tell. Sarah's gift of sight only allows her to see the spells themselves, not the person behind them. A reluctant sorcerer, still learning to trust his own magic, Ruithneadh of Ceangail knows he's woefully unprepared for the adversaries that they're going to face. But he and Sarah must collect and destroy his father's spells soon. In the wrong hands, the Nine Kingdoms would be plunged into an eternity of darkness.