When Reandn's Remote Wolf Patrol is slaughtered while under someone else's command, his reaction earns him dismissal from the elite service that has shaped his entire life. Adrift in a society still reeling from the changes wrought by the return of magic, he is offered a chance to regain his rank: escort the Lady Kalena - whose very presence is a focus for the turmoil building around magic's return - safely from the Resorian border to King's Keep. Embroiled in treachery and under attack from Resorian zealots, Reandn has little chance to make it out alive. His only hope is to face his own worst enemy - magic.