At a Lightworld royal gala, Queene Ayla announces the betrothal of her daughter, Cerridwen, to a high-ranking councilor. Though strategically brilliant, the engagement comes as a shock&mdash;to Cerridwen especially. Infuriated by her mother's high-handedness, ignorant of her own true origins, she flees the court&mdash;leaving herself vulnerable to those who would see the Lightworld destroyed.<P>Amid burgeoning unrest, desperate desires become divided loyalties and terrifying mercenaries lurk in the shadowy space between rebellion and anarchy.